Senegal country profile
Long considered one of Africa's model democracies, the west African nation of Senegal has a tradition of stable governments and civilian rule.
Map of Senegal
Long considered one of Africa's model democracies, the west African nation of Senegal has a tradition of stable governments and civilian rule.
Hundreds of Senegalese were killed in a separatist conflict in the southern region of Casamance, but violence has waned since a 2014 ceasefire.
The country's stability has allowed it to send peacekeeping troops to DR Congo, Liberia and Kosovo.
Slaves, ivory and gold were exported from the coast during the 17th and 18th Centuries, and now the economy is based on agriculture. The money sent home by Senegalese living abroad is a key source of revenue.
REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL: FACTS
Capital: Dakar
Area: 196,712 sq km
Population: 17.1 million
Language: French
Life expectancy: 65 years (men) 70 years (women)
LEADER
President: Macky Sall
Senegal's President Macky Sall
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Once an ally of President Abdoulaye Wade, Macky Sall created his own opposition party in 2008 and defeated Wade in the 2012 elections, and he was re-elected in February 2019.
During his time in office, the separatist conflict in the southern Casamance region has waned, and in 2014 rebel leader Salif Sadio declared a ceasefire.
MEDIA
Slave trading centre of Goree, Senegal
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
The Senegalese island of Goree was the largest slave-trading centre on the African coast
Senegal has traditionally had one of the most unrestricted and diverse media scenes in the region."Solid democracy and laws guarantee press freedom" and violence against journalists is relatively infrequent, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). However, there was a surge in verbal and physical violence against media outlets in 2021 after the arrest and release of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.
Read full media profile
TIMELINE
Senegal's past president Leopold Senghor
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Leopold Senghor was independent Senegal's first president and led the country for two decades
Some key dates in Senegal's history:
8th Century - Present-day Senegal is part of the Kingdom of Ghana.
11th Century - Islam comes to the region through contact with the Morocco-based Almoravid dynasty.
12th-14rth Centuries - Rise of the Jolof empire.
1440s - Portuguese traders reach Senegal river estuary.
1588 - Dutch establish slave port on island of Goree.
1659 - Fench found St-Louis at the mouth of the Senegal river; it becomes a key slave-trading port.
1677 - French take over island of Goree from the Dutch, the start of nearly 300 years of French oversight.
1756-63 - Seven Years War: Britain takes over French posts in Senegal, forms colony of Senegambia.
1775-83 - France regains its holdings during the American Revolutionary War.
1816 - Britain returns French holdings captured during Napoleonic Wars.
Late 1800s - France extends its influence, gains control of all the territory of Senegal.
1895 - Senegal becomes part of French West Africa.
1914 - Blaise Diagne elected as Senegal's first African deputy to French parliament.
1946 - Senegal becomes part of the French Union.
1958 - Becomes an autonomous republic, as part of the French Community.
1960 - Senegal becomes independent, initially as part of Mali Federation with French Sudan (now the Republic of Mali) but quickly pulls out to become a separate republic.
1966 - Leopold Senghor's Senegalese Progressive Union becomes the sole political party.
1982 - Senegambian confederation formed; Senegal and neighbouring Gambia aim to combine military and security forces.
1982 - Separatists in the southern province form the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), clash sporadically with the army over following decades.
1989 - Confederation with Gambia is dissolved.
2000 - Opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade wins presidential elections.
2014 - Rebel leader Salif Sadio, who had been fighting for the independence of the Casamance region, declares a unilateral ceasefire.
Great Mosque of Touba in Senegal
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Senegal's Great Mosque of Touba is one of the largest in Africa
BBC Monitoring