Senegal

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Map of Senegal

The Republic of Senegal (French République du Sénégal) is a nation in West Africa. The capital is Dakar.

Language: French, Wolof (language of the Wolof ethnic group 43.3% of the population)
Area: 196,190 km²
Population: 11,126,832
Population density: 52 /km²
President: Abdoulaye Wade
Currency: 1 CFR-Franc = 100 Centimes (c)

[change] Geography

In the north of Senegal is the Senegal River. To the north of the river is Mauritania. The nation borders Mali in the east, Guinea-Bissau in the south, and Guinea in the south-east. The Gambia is another country inside of Senegal, along the Gambia River. It is about 300 km long.

The north of Senegal is part of the Sahel. The highest mountain is 581 m high. The rainy season is between June and October. The average temperature on the coast is about 24° C, and inland about 27° C.

Regions:

Dakar
Diourbel
Fatick
Kaolack
Kolda
Louga
Matam
Saint-Louis
Tambacounda
Thiès
Ziguinchor

[change] History

In the 15th century, Portuguese people came to Gorée Island off the coast of Dakar. In the 17th century, French people and Dutch people came there, too. These European countries used the island as a trading post in slaves from the mainland, controlled by the Muslim Wolof Empires. Slavery was later made illegal by France, but soon after, around 1850, the French started to conquer the Wolof. By 1902 Senegal was a part of the French colony French West Africa.

In January 1959, Senegal and the French Sudan became one to form the Mali Federation, which became fully independent on June 20, 1960, as a result of the independence and transfer of power agreement signed with France on April 4, 1960. This did not last long and Senegal and Mali broke apart into separate nations. Between 1982 and 1989 Senegal and The Gambia joined together to make Senegambia.