Portal:Senegal

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The Senegal Portal

Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal nearly surrounds The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, which separates Senegal's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country. Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.

Senegal is notably the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia. It owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north. The climate is typically Sahelian, though there is a rainy season. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi) and has a population of around 17 million.0 The state is a unitary presidential republic; since the country's foundation in 1960, it has been recognized as one of the most stable countries on the African continent.

The state was formed as part of the independence of French West Africa from French colonial rule. Because of this history, French is the official language, but it is understood by only a minority of the population. Over 30 languages are spoken in Senegal, and Wolof is the most widely spoken one, with 80% of the population speaking it as a first or second language, acting as Senegal's lingua franca alongside French. Like other post-colonial African states, the country includes a wide mix of ethnic and linguistic communities, with the largest being the Wolof, Fula, and Serer people. Senegalese people are predominantly Muslim.

Senegal is classified as a heavily indebted poor country, with relatively low HDI ranked 170th in the Human Development Index. Most of the population is on the coast and works in agriculture or other food industries; other major industries include mining, tourism, and services. The country does not have notable natural resources, but the basis of its development lies in education, where almost half the state's budget is spent. Senegal is a member state of the African Union, the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States. Internationally, Senegal is best known in the sporting world for the Paris-Dakar Rally. (Full article...)

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Senegalese life, the well regarded baobab tree, and a lion

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The Senegalese education system is based on its French equivalent. The state is responsible for the creation of an educational system that enables every citizen access to education. Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution adopted in January 2001 guarantee access to education for all children. However, due to limited resources and low demand for secular education in areas where Islamic education is more prevalent, the law is not fully enforced.

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) finds that Senegal is fulfilling only 58.1% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income. HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Senegal's income level, the nation is achieving 69.9% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education but only 46.4% for secondary education. (Full article...)
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Senegal sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the fourth successive appearance for the nation in a Summer Paralympic Games after it debuted at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Youssouphua Diouf, a javelin thrower, and shot put and discus thrower Daque Diop were the two athletes sent to Rio de Janeiro by Senegal. The delegation failed to win the country's first medal at the Summer Paralympics as its best performance in these Games was Diouf's seventh position in the men's javelin F56-57 event. (Full article...)

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This page was last updated at 2023-10-28 05:41 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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