Senegal, a West African republic on the westernmost tip of Africa, is a country of remarkable beauty, tradition, and human diversity. Dakar is the capital and largest city. Geographically, the country is almost split by the presence of Gambia, a slender nation situated on both the north and south bank of the Sénégal River.
The national language is Wolof; however, French is the official language. Other languages spoken are Pulaaar, Serer, Diola, Mandingo, and Soninke. Approximately fifteen percent of Senegalese people can understand or read and write French.
The climate is tropical or Sahelian, that is, transitional between the Sahara on the north and the moister regions to the south. The average annual temperature is 29(C) 84(F). There is a short rainy season as well as a long dry season. To the north are found grasslands, or, increasingly, as the desert ecosystem creeps southward, desert. To the south and the southeast are found heavier vegetation and trees. The terrain is flat or gently undulating, but foothills are found in the extreme southeast. Decades of drought in the entire Sahel region of Africa, along with Senegal's population growth, have put severe pressures on the natural environment.
The population was estimated in 2002 at about 9,8 million, of which a quarter live in the agglomeration of Dakar, which is composed of many ethnic groups
The Wolofs are the largest ethnic group (35%); they make up the majority in all the regions, especially in the center, the north and the coast of Dakar and Saint Louis. The Wolof farmers and the merchants are important to the nation's economy. The Lebous, established in fishing communities in the peninsula of Cap-Vert and in Saint Louis are related.
The Pulaar group (20%) is composed of the Foulbes, Peuls and Toucouleurs in northern Senegal. The Fouta Toro, the historical source for the propagation of Islam in Senegal, make up the cultural birthplace, and they are very active in the commercial domain, as well as breeding and irrigated farming. They populate the Senegalese river valley and the Ferlo region.
The Sereres (17%) are less scattered than the other ethnic groups. They can be found in the Sine-Saloum, along the Small Coast, in the center of the country and north-west of the Gambia. The majority are Muslim, except for those along the Small Coast. The Diolas (10%) can be found in the Casamance, but also in Gambia and the Guinea-Bissau. Oriented rather to the culture of rice, they are for the majority animist and/or Christians in the Casamance region (Ziguinchor, Oussouye, Cap Skiring), and muslims in the north and east.
Other than the main ethnic groups, there are the Mandingues and soninkes in eastern Senegal and in the zones adjacent to the Mali and the Mauritania, and the Bassari, who grow mainly millet and corn, living on this and hunting, between the Guinea border and the limit of the Niokolo-Koba national park.
Groundnut oil was for years the major export and foreign exchange earner. Recently it has been surpassed by, first, the fish industry, and, second, by tourism (101 billion CFA francs in 1999). However, agriculture employs more workers than any other sector. Per capita income in 1998 was US$520.
Most of Senegal lies within the drought-prone Sahel region, with irregular rainfall and generally poor soils. With only about 5% of the land irrigated, the heavy reliance on rainfed cultivation results in large fluctuations in production. About 70% of the working population is involved in farming. Agriculture (including forestry, livestock, and fisheries) accounts for 18% of GDP. Most Senegalese farms are small (1.5–2.4 hectares/3.7–5.9 acres), and about 60% are in the so-called Peanut Basin, east of Dakar. Much of the agricultural land is still tribally owned. Only about 11% of Senegal's total land area is cultivated; millet took up 40% of the cultivated land in 1999; peanuts, 36%.
Since independence, the Senegalese government has developed a system of generally small cooperatives to rationalize agricultural production and marketing and to free the farmers from chronic indebtedness to private traders; these were replaced in 1984 by a network of "village sections" with financial autonomy. Parastatal agencies guarantee minimum prices of major agricultural crops, including peanuts, millet, sorghum, rice, and cotton.
In theory all peanuts are processed locally, and prices of processed peanut oil and other peanut products are set by parastatal agencies. Production of unshelled peanuts varies widely because of periodic drought, and production is frequently underreported because of unauthorized sales to processors in neighboring countries. In 1999, the reported production was 828,000 tons (95% for oil). Cotton, Senegal's other major export crop, is produced and marketed under the direction of the Society for the Development of Textile Fibers (Société de Développement des Fibres Textiles—SODEFITEX). Seed cotton production was 21,000 tons in 1999.
Production of food crops, some of which are grown in rotation with peanuts, does not meet Senegal's needs. Only in years of favorable rainfall does the country approach self-sufficiency in millet and sorghum, the basic staples.
Its European-patterned system of education produced assimilés who prized French educational ideals. Such a system was designed to draw the best minds out of society and train them for positions of leadership in government and civil administration. The Senegalese education was at one time regarded as the finest in francophone Africa, although over the past several decades certain factors have contributed to a decline in the quality of education.
Senegal is a republic with a strong presidency, a weak legislature, and a somewhat independent judiciary. Abdoulaye Wade, who had tried four times for the presidency, was elected president in March of 2000. His election was widely hailed as a triumph for the democratic constitutional system. In Wade's campaign, he emphasized physical infrastructure, education, and the fight against corruption as his main development priorities.
Senegal has a rich tradition of the griot, a storyteller / performer / wise person. It is also rich in literary treasures. Notable works of literature include the tales of Birago Diop, Mariama Bâ's powerful womanist novel Une si longue lettre (So Long a Letter), and Ken Bugul's Le Baobab fou. Bâ's novel is of particular interest to educators as it tells the story of a woman teacher's life and relationships.
It must be remembered too that the first president of newly independent Senegal in 1960 was Leopold Senghor, a poet and classicist. Senghor was a leader in the Négritude movement, a protest against the French policy of assimilation and a reassertion of the positive values of African culture. Another notable writer was Cheikh Anta Diop, who died in 1986, a modern champion of African identity and African unity.
The music of Senegal was made world famous by Youssou N'Dour, but others, such as Baaba Maal, and Ismael Lô, have gained international acclaim in Western markets too. On the African continent, everybody knows Senegalese music for its energy, although only the Senegalese can dance the "ventilateur."
Senegalese music was heavily influenced by Latin music until well into the 1980s. Relatively late compared to surrounding countries, Senegalese musicians searched to use traditional Senegalese rhythms in popular music. By then, the mbalax sound has gained importance, mainly through Youssou N'Dour but also Thione Seck, Ismael Lô, and Super Diamono, but Gambian neighbour Ifang Bondi had a pioneering role in this quest for using local elements in modern Senegalese music.
Although the music scene is traditionally dominated by the Wolof people with the mbalax rhythm, Baaba Maal was the first to break through this hegemony. Maal, of Toucouleur origin, has become very popular with his yela music.
Bands like Toure Kunda play a softer, more accessible music, with influences from the Casamance region and from neighbouring countries like Guinee-Bissau. A Senegalese "folk," "roots," or acoustic sound developed around people like Pascal Diatta and Sona Mané, the folk oriented music of Diogal Sakho or Metzo Djatah and the acoustic recordings of Baaba Maal.
Since the 1990s, rap and hiphop has become very popular, but long before that a traditional form of rap existed in Senegal, the Tassou. At the same time, the mbalax music has developed into a new generation by younger musicians, the Boul Falé (""don't care"). These constant dynamics of the musical landscape in Senegal show that the Senegalese musical and cultural identity is very strong, and although Western music has a considerable impact, this identity will remain strong.
Senegal is famous for its talented artisans who can be found in the major markets, creating and selling their wares. Beautiful gold, silver, and bronze jewelry are exquisitely crafted. Antique beads and large amber necklaces, traditionally worn by the Fulani women, can be found in the markets and antique shops. Metallurgy, making the tools, the jewelries, and other materials, using steel, iron, gold, and other metals, is important.
Baskets, pottery, hand-woven fabrics with incredibly intricate patterns are renowned great buys. Leather, iguana, crocodile and snake skins are used to create handbags, shoes, belts and other accessories.
The social and cultural life of Senegal is strongly influenced by traditional religious values. In this the Marabouts, or traditional religious leaders, play a key role at all levels, both spiritual and temporal. Senegal is predominately a rural, Islamic, polygamous, traditional, and ethnically diverse society. Although women have equal rights under the law, they have little decision-making power at the higher levels of social and economic life; this is in spite of the fact that women are highly active in the lower levels of economic life. Women's illiteracy and lack of access to the information system represent a serious obstacle to family well being. Children are highly valued, representing a woman's social worth and status. Contraceptive use is low, and most families are said to desire more than the average 6.4 children (Cain and Schuman 1994). The majority of the population of Senegal is rural (about 64 percent), but this is rapidly changing with migration to the cities and environmental changes in the countryside.
Poverty remains a serious presence in Senegal and can clearly be tied to the lack of opportunities for women. Per capita income has remained scarcely unchanged since independence in 1960. A minimum weekly wage is guaranteed at 27 dollars per week. However, cost of living estimates set a weekly need at 36 dollars per wage earner (Cain and Schuman 1994). About 50 percent of the population still do not have access to clean drinking water. The substantial foreign assistance received through Senegal's cooperation with foreign nongovernmental organizations amounts to about 15 percent of the GNP.