Demographics of Senegal

Demographics of Senegal
Population pyramid of Senegal in 2020
Population17,923,036 (2022 est.)
Growth rate2.57% (2022 est.)
Birth rate31.51 births/1,000 population
Death rate5.08 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy69.96 years
 • male68.23 years
 • female71.77 years
Fertility rate4.27 children
Infant mortality rate32.44 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Sex ratio
Total0.97 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.05 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalitySenegalese
Language
OfficialFrench

Demographic features of the population of Senegal include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

About 42% of Senegal's population is rural. In rural areas, population density varies from about 77 per square kilometer (200/mile²) in the west-central region to 2 per square kilometer (5/mile²) in the arid eastern section. The average population density for the country is 68 people per square kilometer (180 people/sq mi). French is the official language but is used regularly only by the literate minority. Almost all Senegalese speak an indigenous language, of which Wolof has the largest usage. Many Senegalese live in Europe, particularly in France, Italy and Spain.

Population

Demographics of Senegal, From UN estimates; Number of inhabitants in millions.

According to the 2018 revision of the World Population Review the total population was 16,302,789 in May 2018, compared to only 2,416,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2017 was 41.5%, between 15 and 54 years of age was 31.1%, while 55 years or older was 6.9%.

Total population Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 2,416,000 41.6 55.0 3.4
1955 2,684,000 41.5 55.6 2.9
1960 3,048,000 41.9 55.5 2.6
1965 3,505,000 43.0 54.6 2.4
1970 4,096,000 44.3 53.5 2.3
1975 4,786,000 45.3 52.5 2.2
1980 5,414,000 47.2 50.5 2.2
1985 6,232,000 47.7 50.0 2.3
1990 7,242,000 47.2 50.4 2.4
1995 8,369,000 46.2 51.3 2.5
2000 9,506,000 45.4 52.1 2.5
2005 10,872,000 44.4 53.1 2.5
2010 12,434,000 43.7 53.9 2.4
2017 14,668,522 41.5 55.5 2.9

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (Estimates 1.VII.2020) (Data refer to national projections.):

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 8 456 486 8 504 040 16 960 525 100
0–4 1 373 744 1 294 257 2 668 002 15.73
5–9 1 219 736 1 146 769 2 366 505 13.95
10–14 1 066 780 1 005 257 2 072 037 12.22
15–19 919 100 893 599 1 812 700 10.69
20–24 762 949 805 877 1 568 826 9.25
25–29 640 669 694 125 1 334 794 7.87
30–34 527 920 562 852 1 090 772 6.43
35–39 433 152 466 088 899 240 5.30
40–44 335 430 374 282 709 711 4.18
45–49 278 289 309 644 587 933 3.47
50–54 244 474 259 784 504 259 2.97
55–59 200 080 208 825 408 905 3.41
60–64 149 832 154 155 303 986 1.79
65–69 112 949 116 334 229 284 1.35
70–74 80 355 84 366 164 721 0.97
75-79 52 036 58 255 110 292 0.65
80+ 58 988 69 570 128 558 0.76
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 3 660 260 3 446 283 7 106 543 41.90
15–64 4 491 898 4 729 232 9 221 130 54.37
65+ 304 328 328 525 632 853 3.73

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in Senegal is not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Mid-year population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 births) Life expectancy (in years)
1950 2,496,065 128,935 70,149 58,786 51.7 28.1 23.5 6.79 148.6 36.43
1951 2,561,152 131,813 71,373 60,440 51.5 27.9 23.6 6.79 146.4 36.92
1952 2,628,508 134,812 72,658 62,154 51.3 27.7 23.7 6.79 144.4 37.36
1953 2,698,414 137,960 73,519 64,441 51.2 27.3 23.9 6.80 142.3 37.81
1954 2,771,247 141,384 74,406 66,978 51.1 26.9 24.2 6.82 140.3 38.20
1955 2,847,262 144,935 75,134 69,801 51.0 26.4 24.5 6.83 138.4 38.63
1956 2,926,572 148,593 75,940 72,653 50.8 26.0 24.9 6.86 136.7 39.04
1957 3,008,862 151,951 76,951 75,000 50.6 25.6 25.0 6.89 135.3 39.36
1958 3,093,941 155,903 78,330 77,573 50.5 25.3 25.1 6.92 134.3 39.55
1959 3,182,056 160,368 79,820 80,548 50.5 25.1 25.3 6.96 133.7 39.74
1960 3,273,177 164,735 81,546 83,189 50.4 24.9 25.4 7.00 133.3 39.88
1961 3,367,082 169,342 83,613 85,729 50.4 24.9 25.5 7.04 133.3 39.92
1962 3,463,524 173,826 86,017 87,809 50.3 24.9 25.4 7.08 133.4 39.86
1963 3,562,469 178,101 88,190 89,911 50.1 24.8 25.3 7.12 133.7 39.88
1964 3,664,599 182,552 90,465 92,087 49.9 24.7 25.2 7.16 133.9 39.89
1965 3,770,874 187,663 92,996 94,667 49.8 24.7 25.1 7.19 134.0 39.84
1966 3,881,994 192,917 95,105 97,812 49.8 24.5 25.2 7.22 133.9 39.96
1967 3,997,869 198,287 97,316 100,971 49.7 24.4 25.3 7.24 133.5 40.08
1968 4,117,659 203,618 99,372 104,246 49.5 24.2 25.4 7.25 132.9 40.27
1969 4,240,859 209,482 101,478 108,004 49.5 24.0 25.5 7.26 132.0 40.46
1970 4,367,744 215,753 103,029 112,724 49.5 23.6 25.9 7.26 130.7 40.83
1971 4,498,616 222,237 104,511 117,726 49.5 23.3 26.2 7.26 128.9 41.22
1972 4,633,452 228,423 105,472 122,951 49.4 22.8 26.6 7.26 126.6 41.75
1973 4,772,039 234,397 105,414 128,983 49.2 22.1 27.1 7.26 124.0 42.56
1974 4,911,421 240,854 105,802 135,052 49.0 21.5 27.5 7.25 121.0 43.21
1975 5,047,922 247,687 105,209 142,478 49.0 20.8 28.2 7.25 117.5 44.10
1976 5,181,195 254,743 104,054 150,689 49.1 20.0 29.0 7.26 113.7 45.10
1977 5,308,297 260,572 102,502 158,070 48.9 19.2 29.7 7.27 109.7 46.15
1978 5,433,225 264,864 100,615 164,249 48.6 18.5 30.1 7.28 105.9 47.20
1979 5,564,474 268,813 98,791 170,022 48.2 17.7 30.5 7.29 102.3 48.20
1980 5,703,869 273,843 97,249 176,594 47.9 17.0 30.9 7.29 99.3 49.14
1981 5,852,029 279,093 96,624 182,469 47.6 16.5 31.1 7.28 96.7 49.85
1982 6,008,392 284,059 96,003 188,056 47.2 15.9 31.2 7.25 94.4 50.56
1983 6,171,874 288,732 95,783 192,949 46.7 15.5 31.2 7.19 92.1 51.15
1984 6,341,801 292,559 94,444 198,115 46.0 14.9 31.2 7.11 89.5 52.02
1985 6,520,705 296,683 93,381 203,302 45.4 14.3 31.1 7.01 86.7 52.76
1986 6,710,885 299,038 90,601 208,437 44.5 13.5 31.0 6.90 83.1 53.93
1987 6,909,837 303,194 88,930 214,264 43.8 12.9 31.0 6.79 79.8 54.82
1988 7,113,636 304,428 86,919 217,509 42.8 12.2 30.5 6.58 76.8 55.77
1989 7,321,832 309,505 86,161 223,344 42.2 11.8 30.5 6.48 74.5 56.44
1990 7,536,001 316,620 86,250 230,370 42.0 11.4 30.5 6.40 72.9 56.95
1991 7,754,289 320,601 87,599 233,002 41.3 11.3 30.0 6.27 72.1 57.14
1992 7,974,514 325,946 89,871 236,075 40.8 11.3 29.6 6.15 71.9 57.11
1993 8,196,551 332,147 92,654 239,493 40.5 11.3 29.2 6.05 72.1 57.00
1994 8,416,997 335,891 95,143 240,748 39.8 11.3 28.6 5.92 72.5 56.96
1995 8,632,681 342,324 97,963 244,361 39.6 11.3 28.3 5.82 73.0 56.84
1996 8,843,423 348,436 101,013 247,423 39.3 11.4 27.9 5.72 73.4 56.67
1997 9,051,539 356,266 103,620 252,646 39.3 11.4 27.8 5.64 73.2 56.59
1998 9,261,526 363,901 106,679 257,222 39.2 11.5 27.7 5.58 72.6 56.42
1999 9,478,564 374,758 108,241 266,517 39.4 11.4 28.0 5.57 71.4 56.61
2000 9,704,287 381,017 108,766 272,251 39.2 11.2 28.0 5.50 69.2 56.94
2001 9,938,027 387,416 107,728 279,688 38.9 10.8 28.1 5.41 66.4 57.56
2002 10,180,950 394,576 106,349 288,227 38.7 10.4 28.2 5.31 63.1 58.23
2003 10,434,504 403,780 103,869 299,911 38.6 9.9 28.7 5.25 59.5 59.12
2004 10,698,691 411,222 101,255 309,967 38.4 9.4 28.9 5.18 55.9 60.03
2005 10,974,057 422,547 98,881 323,666 38.4 9.0 29.4 5.19 52.7 60.92
2006 11,263,387 436,406 96,823 339,583 38.7 8.6 30.1 5.20 49.5 61.75
2007 11,563,869 442,235 94,763 347,472 38.2 8.2 30.0 5.11 46.8 62.54
2008 11,872,929 450,758 93,168 357,590 37.9 7.8 30.1 5.05 44.3 63.24
2009 12,195,029 465,658 91,835 373,823 38.1 7.5 30.6 5.08 42.1 63.92
2010 12,530,121 473,819 90,265 383,554 37.7 7.2 30.6 5.06 40.0 64.62
2011 12,875,880 483,824 88,945 394,879 37.5 6.9 30.6 5.04 38.2 65.26
2012 13,231,833 493,250 89,885 403,365 37.2 6.8 30.4 5.01 36.4 65.46
2013 13,595,566 501,507 88,577 412,930 36.8 6.5 30.3 4.96 34.7 66.07
2014 13,970,308 508,203 88,400 419,803 36.3 6.3 30.0 4.91 33.1 66.45
2015 14,356,181 508,147 87,797 420,350 35.4 6.1 29.2 4.78 31.5 66.88
2016 14,751,356 511,960 86,228 425,732 34.7 5.8 28.8 4.68 29.9 67.50
2017 15,157,793 519,212 86,790 432,422 34.2 5.7 28.5 4.62 28.5 67.75
2018 15,574,909 529,314 86,967 442,347 34.0 5.6 28.4 4.58 27.2 68.10
2019 16,000,781 535,968 86,623 449,345 33.5 5.4 28.1 4.52 26.1 68.53
2020 16,436,120 543,219 91,832 451,387 33.0 5.6 27.5 4.45 25.2 68.01
2021 16,876,720 549,984 99,995 449,989 32.6 5.9 26.7 4.39 24.4 67.09

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1980-82 7.4 6.3 7.9
1983-85 6.6 5.4 7.1
1992-93 40.8 6.03 (5.1) 37.4 5.06 (3.8) 42.9 6,74 (5.9)
1997 37 5,67 (4,6) 31 4,29 (3,2) 42 6,74 (5,6)
1999 36 5,2 30 3,9 40 6,1
2005 39,3 5,3 (4,5) 33,4 4,1 (3,3) 44,0 6,4 (5,7)
2008–2009 37,3 4,9 33,4 4,0 40,1 5,8
2010–2011 37,4 5,0 (3,2) 32,3 3,9 (2,6) 41,6 6,0 (3,8)
2012–2013 38,6 5,3 32,9 4,1 42,7 6,3
2014 37.6 5.0 (3.7) 33.4 4.0 (3.1) 41.6 6.3 (4.4)
2015 35.7 4.9 (4.3) 28.1 3.5 (3.1) 41.5 6.1 (5.4)
2016 34.6 4.7 (4.2) 27.2 3.5 (3.1) 40.8 5.9 (5.2)
2017 33.7 4.6 (4.0) 27.1 3.4 (3.0) 39.2 5.9 (5.1)
2018 32.7 4.4 (4.0) 27.2 3.2 (3.0) 37.0 5.5 (5.0)
2019 34.0 4.7 29.2 3.8 37.8 5.6
2020–2021 28.7 3.9 24.7 3.1 31.8 4.7
2023 29.6 4.0 26.0 3.3 32.7 4.7

Fertility data by region (DHS Program):

Region Total fertility rate
(2005)
Total fertility rate
(2010/11)
Total fertility rate
(2017)
Dakar 3.7 3.7 3.0
Thiès 5.4 4.8 4.6
Diourbel 6.2 5.2 5.8
Kaolack 5.9 6.0 5.2
Kaffrine 6.5 6.2
Louga 5.6 4.8 5.1
Fatick 6.8 6.3 5.2
Ziguinchor 5.0 4.8 4.6
Sédhiou 6.9 6.4
Kolda 6.3 6.8 5.5
Matam 3.7 5.4 5.3
Saint-Louis 5.3 5.0 4.7
Kédougou 6.1 6.4
Tambacounda 6.2 6.0 5.8

Life expectancy

Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 35.47
1955–1960 Increase 37.49
1960–1965 Increase 38.62
1965–1970 Decrease 38.41
1970–1975 Increase 40.91
1975–1980 Increase 46.50
1980–1985 Increase 51.27
1985–1990 Increase 56.05
1990–1995 Increase 57.59
1995–2000 Decrease 57.25
2000–2005 Increase 58.93
2005–2010 Increase 62.41
2010–2015 Increase 65.71

Ethnic groups

Wolof 37.1%, Pular 26.2%, Serer 17%, Mandinka 5.6%, Jola 4.5%, Soninke 1.4%, Other 8.3% (includes 50,000 Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent) (2017)
About 50,000 Europeans -represents the 0.3% of the population of Senegal- (mostly French) and Lebanese and Vietnamese reside in Senegal, mainly in the cities.
Population of Senegal according to ethnic group in 1976 and 1988
Ethnic
group
census 1976 census 1988
Number % Number %
Wolof 2,001,416 41.0 2,890,402 42.7
Serer 716,919 14.7 1,009,921 14.9
Peul 605,584 12.4 978,366 14.4
Toucouleur 528,490 10.8 631,892 9.3
Diola 265,353 5.4 357,672 5.3
Mandingue 179,050 3.7 245,651 3.6
Soce 42,751 0.6
Sarakhole 84,102 1.7 113,184 1.7
Bambara 65,096 1.3 91,071 1.3
Maure 59,784 1.2 67,726 1.0
Mandjaag 41,628 0.9 66,605 1.0
Lebou 94,837 1.9 56,758 0.8
Balant 33,915 0.7 54,398 0.8
Malinke 202,472 4.1 28,643 0.4
Mancagne 23,180 0.3
Laobe 18,250 0.3
Bassari 6,195 0.1
Khassonke 1,752 0.0
Coniagui 1,119 0.0
Fula 108 0.0
Other 87,773 1.3
Total 4,879,103 6,773,417

Languages

French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Hassaniya Arabic, Serer, Jola, Mandinka, Soninke, Arabic

Religion

The religious beliefs of the 2016 population of Senegal are: Muslim 96.1% (mostly Sunni), Christian 3.6% (mostly Roman Catholic), animist 0.3%.

Other general statistics

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

The following demographic statistics of Senegal are from the World Population Review.

  • One birth every 55 seconds
  • One death every 6 minutes
  • One net migrant every 26 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 1 minutes

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated.

Population

17,923,036 (2022 est.)
15,020,945 (July 2018 est.)

Religion

Muslim 97.2% (most adhere to one of the four main Sufi brotherhoods), Christian 2.7% (mostly Roman Catholic) (2019 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Senegal in 2020
0-14 years: 40.38% (male 3,194,454/female 3,160,111)
15-24 years: 20.35% (male 1,596,896/female 1,606,084)
25-54 years: 31.95% (male 2,327,424/female 2,700,698)
55-64 years: 4.21% (male 283,480/female 378,932)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 212,332/female 275,957) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 41.15% (male 3,106,942 /female 3,074,740)
15-24 years: 20.33% (male 1,521,868 /female 1,531,484)
25-54 years: 31.45% (male 2,176,052 /female 2,547,566)
55-64 years: 4.05% (male 261,682 /female 347,374)
65 years and over: 3.02% (male 200,079 /female 253,158) (2018 est.)

Birth rate

31.51 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 27th
32.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 27th
33.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Death rate

5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 193rd
7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 94th
8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.27 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 23rd
4.2 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 30th

Population growth rate

2.57% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 17th
2.36% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 30th
2.39% (2017 est.)

Median age

total: 19.4 years. Country comparison to the world: 203rd male: 18.5 years female: 20.3 years (2020 est.)

total: 19 years. Country comparison to the world: 205th
male: 18.1 years
female: 19.9 years (2018 est.)
Total: 18.8 years
Male: 18 years
Female: 19.7 years (2017 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

21.9 years (2019 est.)
21.5 years (2016 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Contraceptive prevalence rate

26.9% (2019)
25.1% (2016)

Net migration rate

-0.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 133rd
-1.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 151st

Dependency ratios

Total: 85.4
Youth: 79.8
Elderly: 5.6
Potential support ratio: 18 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 49.1% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.59% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 47.2% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 3.73% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.96 years. Country comparison to the world: 171st male: 68.23 years female: 71.77 years (2022 est.)

total population: 62.5 years
male: 60.4 years
female: 64.7 years (2018 est.)
Total population: 62.1 years (2017 est.), 59.78 years (2011 est.), 59.25 years (2006 est.)
Male: 60 years (2017 est.), 57.85 years (2011 est.), 57.7 years (2006 est.)
Female: 64.3 years (2017 est.), 61.77 years (2011 est.), 60.85 years (2006 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 47.2% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 3.73% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Senegal is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Maternal mortality ratio

315 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

Drinking water source

improved
total: 78.5% of population
urban: 92.9% of population
rural: 67.3% of population
unimproved
total: 21.5% of population
urban: 7.1% of population
rural: 32.7% of population (2015 est.)

Education expenditures

5.3% of GDP (2019) Country comparison to the world: 51st

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2017 est.) total population: 51.9% male: 64.8% female: 39.8% (2017 est.)

Total population: 57.7%
Male: 69.7%
Female: 46.6% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 9 years
male: 8 years
female: 9 years (2020)
total: 9 years
male: 9 years
female: 9 years (2017)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 4.1%
male: 2.9%
female: 6.7% (2019 est.)

Gender ratio

At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/females
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Emigration

Senegal was historically a destination country for neighboring economic migrants, but in recent decades West African migrants more often use Senegal as a transit point to North Africa, or as a stop before continuing illegally onward to Europe. The country also has been host to several thousand black Mauritanian refugees since they were expelled from Mauritania during the 1989 border conflict with Senegal. The country's economic crisis in the 1970s stimulated emigration; departures accelerated from the 1990s. Destinations shifted from neighboring countries to Libya and Mauritania, because of their booming oil industries, and to France, Italy and Spain.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-17 01:22 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari