According to the CIA World Factbook, “The French colonies of Senegal and French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never implemented, and the union was dissolved in 1989.” Senegal is considered to be a fairly stable democracy, and in 2015 enacted constitutional reforms to limit Presidential terms. Economically, “Senegal’s economy is driven by mining, construction, tourism, fisheries and agriculture, which is the primary source of employment in rural areas.”

• Country Profile
  • Land Mass/Major Cities – Senegal’s capital city is Dakar. Senegal shares borders with Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, Guinea- Bissua, and the Gambia is fully within the borders of Senegal.
  • Languages – French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
• Business Activity
  • Agriculture – Cattle, corn, cotton, fish, green vegetables, millet, peanuts, pigs, poultry, rice, sorghum, and tomatoes
  • Industries – Agricultural and fish processing, construction materials, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, and gold mining, ship construction and repair, zircon
  • Natural Resources – Fish, iron ore, and phosphates
  • Exports – Cotton, fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, and phosphates
  • Imports – Capital goods, food and beverages, and fuels
  • Major Trading Partners – China, Cote d’Ivoire, France, India, Mali, Netherlands, Nigeria, Spain, Switzerland, and the UAE

Source: CIA. (2017). The World Factbook: Senegal. CIA. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.html