Facts about Senegal
In 1946 Senegal was given two deputies in the French parliament.
France granted some political rights to people in the major trading cities in Senegal, declaring them citizens and allowing them to elect a representative to the French parliament.
Senegal has a tradition of a flourishing independent media, largely free from official or informal control, though there were some reports of press restrictions prior to the February 2007 election.
Small Roman Catholic communities are mainly found in coastal Serer, Jola, Mankanya and Balant populations, and in eastern Senegal among the Bassari and Coniagui.
During the nineteenth century, there was a movement to integrate Senegal into the cultural Muslim world.
Drama in Senegal is an outgrowth of ritual dances that combined drama, costumes, and song.
Senegal was President George W. Bush’s first stop in his July 2003 visit to Africa.
Senegal became a major producer of groundnuts (peanuts), starting in 1839 and continuing into the 1960s.
Traditionally, the Senegalese are polygynous, and nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of women live in a polygamous marriage, the third highest rate in the world.
Senegal has well-trained and disciplined armed forces consisting of about 17,000 personnel in the army, air force, navy, and gendarmerie.
Archaeological findings throughout the area indicate that Senegal was inhabited by 800 B.C.E., before the Sahara Desert began expanding southward and the region was wetter.
Senegal is a republic with a powerful presidency; the president is elected every five years, by universal adult suffrage.
Under the constitution of 1946, the franchise was extended and a Territorial Assembly was established in Senegal.
Friendly to the West, especially to France and the United States, Senegal also is a vigorous proponent of more assistance from developed countries to the Third World.
Senegal intervened in the Guinea-Bissau civil war in 1998 at the request of former President Vieira.
Senegal has participated in many international and regional peacekeeping missions, including the African Union mission in Darfur, Sudan, the UN mission in Liberia, and the UN mission in Cote d’Ivoire.
Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping.
In 1958, Senegal accepted the new French constitution and became an autonomous republic within the French Community, part of Francophone Africa.
Senegal continues to play a significant role in regional and international organizations.
Senegal took a strong position against terrorism in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and in October 2001 hosted a conference establishing the African Pact Against Terrorism.
Despite its political stability, most Senegalese live in poverty, eating simple meals and suffering from poor health due to malnutrition and poor sanitation.
Senegal will host the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit in March 2008.
Most communities south of the Senegal River Valley, however, were not thoroughly Islamized until the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
UNICEF in 2004 estimated that there are up to 100,000 child beggars in Senegal, constituting 1 percent of the population.
Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia on February 1, 1982.
After seeing its economy contract by 2.1 percent in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5 percent annually during 1995-2001.
Senegal, though poor, has a tradition of political stability and peaceful transfers of power.
Eastern Senegal was once part of the Empire of Ghana, which was based in Mali.
Groups of megaliths up to 12 ft (3.5 m) high have been found near the mouth of the Senegal River.
The traditional Senegalese sport is a form of wrestling called laambi, but the most popular sport is soccer.
Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sйnйgal River in western Africa.
Senegal has long supported functional integration among French-speaking West African states through the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, socioeconomic disparity, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction.
Lйopold Senghor was elected Senegal's first president in September 1960.
The Jolof Empire of Senegal also was founded during this time and reached its height in the fifteenth century, which is when the Portuguese first encountered them.
Senegal has a high profile in many international organizations and was a member of the UN Security Council in 1988-1989.
Many of the Toucouleurs, or sedentary Halpulaar of the Senegal River Valley in the north, converted to Islam around a millennium ago and later contributed to Islam's propagation throughout Senegal.
Senegal’s principal political party was for forty years the Socialist Party (PS).
A Senegalese contingent was deployed on a peacekeeping mission to the Central African Republic in 1997, and in 1994, Senegal sent a battalion-sized force to Rwanda to participate in the UN peacekeeping mission there.
The Cape Verde islands lie some 560 kilometers (348 mi) off the Senegalese coast, but Cap Vert is a peninsula near Senegal's capital Dakar, and the westernmost point in Africa.
Senegal has a wide variety of ethnic groups and, as in most West African countries, several languages are widely spoken.
The Wolof, who are the dominant ethnic group in Senegal, are known for their skilled craftsmanship, including pottery, woodcarving, basketry, and making designs on cloth.
In August 1989, Senegalese-Gambian military cooperation, which began with the joint Senegalese-Gambian efforts during the 1981 coup attempt, ceased with the dissolution of the Senegambian Confederation.
From Senghor to Mariame BA, Senegal has produced some of the best African poets, writers, and film-makers.
Senegal experienced its second peaceful transition of power, and its first from one political party to another.
Senegal is divided into 11 regions and subdivided into 34 departments, 94 arrondissements and multiple communes.
Other Islamic groups include the much older Q?diriyya order and the Senegalese Laayeen order, which is prominent among the coastal Lebu.
Senegal is a coastal West African nation that is slightly smaller than Great Britain or the U.S. state of South Dakota.
Senegalese society is sharply divided between the urban culture and rural farmers, perpetuating divisions that have their roots in the French colonial period.
There has been a twenty-year internal conflict in Senegal’s southernmost region of the Casamance.
About 50,000 Europeans (mostly French), as well as smaller numbers of Mauritanians and Lebanese, reside in Senegal, mainly in the cities.
Nevertheless, Senegal's commitment to democracy and human rights strengthened.
The first World Festival of Negro Arts, which was organized in Dakar in 1966, was one of the greatest events in Senegal's cultural life.
The United States maintains friendly relations with Senegal and provides considerable economic and technical assistance.
French Jesuits began to actively seek Algonquin conversions to Roman Catholicism, opening up a bitter divide between traditionalists and converts.
Senegal is one of the few African states that has never experienced a coup d’etat.
Military noninterference in political affairs has contributed to Senegal's stability since independence.
Senegal has a population of over 12.5 million (2007 estimate), about 70 percent of whom live in rural areas.
In August 1981, the Senegalese military was invited into The Gambia by President Dawda Kairaba Jawara to put down a coup attempt.
In 1617, France established its first permanent settlement in Senegal, at what had become an important slave trade departure point: the infamous island of Gorйe next to modern Dakar.
Today, most Senegalese children study at daaras for several years, memorizing as much of the Qur'an as they can.
Senegal also realised full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services.