The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960.

The union broke up after only a few months.

Senegal was ruled by the Socialist Party for 40 years until current President Abdoulaye Wade was elected in 2000.

Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982, but the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989.

The most significant threat within Senegal since the 1980s has been led by the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC).

Although a peace agreement was signed in December 2004, internal rifts continue to keep the peace process deadlocked. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa.

Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 12,521,851 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 42% (male 2,656,122/female 2,608,423) 15-64 years: 55% (male 3,426,504/female 3,454,372) 65 years and over: 3% (male 176,877/female 199,553) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 18.7 years male: 18.5 years female: 18.9 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 2.645% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 37.4 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 10.96 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.992 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.886 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 60.15 deaths/1,000 live births male: 64.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 56.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 56.69 years male: 55.34 years female: 58.09 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 5 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.8% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 44,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 3,500 (2003 est.)

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Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, yellow fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Rift Valley fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)

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Nationality: noun: Senegalese (singular and plural) adjective: Senegalese

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Ethnic groups: Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4%

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Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic), indigenous beliefs 1%

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Languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 39.3% male: 51.1% female: 29.2% (2002 est.)

In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which was linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging over 5% annually during 1995-2006. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff and a more stable monetary policy. High unemployment, however, continues to prompt illegal migrants to flee Senegal in search of better job opportunities in Europe. Senegal was also beset by an energy crisis that caused widespread blackouts in 2006. Senegal still relies heavily upon outside donor assistance. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal will benefit from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and private-sector debt.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $21.54 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $8.331 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 2% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,800 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 18.3% industry: 19.2% services: 62.5% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 4.749 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 77% industry and services: 23% (1990 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 48%; note - urban youth 40% (2001 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 54% (2001 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 33.5% (1995)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 41.3 (1995)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 41% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $2.023 billion expenditures: $2.377 billion; including capital expenditures of $357 million (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 17.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish

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Industries: agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, ship construction and repair

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Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 1.453 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 1.351 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 31,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 50 million cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 50 million cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$895.2 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $1.478 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton

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Exports - partners: Mali 18.5%, India 14.4%, France 6.9%, Italy 5.1%, Gambia, The 5% (2006)

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Imports: $2.98 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: food and beverages, capital goods, fuels

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Imports - partners: France 21.3%, Nigeria 10.6%, UK 8.9%, Netherlands 4.9%, China 4.8%, Brazil 4.1% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.18 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $1.628 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $449.6 million (2003 est.)

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Currency (code): Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States

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Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year