Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania in the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast, and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal also 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.
Predominantly rural, and with limited natural resources, the economy of Senegal gains most of its foreign exchange from fish, phosphates, groundnuts, tourism, and services. As one of the dominate parts of the economy, the agricultural sector of Senegal is highly vulnerable to environmental conditions, such as variations in rainfall and climate change, and changes in world commodity prices.
President Léopold Senghor advocated close relations with France and negotiation and compromise as the best means of resolving international differences. To a large extent, the two succeeding presidents have carried on Senghor's policies and philosophies. Senegal has long supported functional integration among French-speaking West African states through the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
Dakar is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 2.45 million.
Casamance is the area of Senegal south of the Gambia including the Casamance River. It consists of the Lower Casamance and the Upper Casamance. The largest city of Casamance is Ziguinchor.
Hissène Habré, also spelled Hissen Habré, is a Chadian politician who served as the President of Chad from 1982 until he was deposed in 1990. He was brought to power with the support of France and the United States, who provided training, arms and financing.
The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running 1,120 kilometres (700 mi) from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigable for about half that length.
The president of Senegal is the head of state and head of government of Senegal. In accordance with the constitutional reform of 2001, and since a referendum that took place on 20 March 2016, the president is elected for a 5-year term, and limited to two consecutive terms.
Macky Sall is a Senegalese politician who has been President of Senegal since April 2012. He was re-elected President in the first round voting in February 2019 Senegalese presidential election. Under President Abdoulaye Wade, Sall was Prime Minister of Senegal from July 2004 to June 2007 and President of the National Assembly from June 2007 to November 2008. He was the Mayor of Fatick from 2002 to 2008 and held that post again from 2009 to 2012.
The Senegal national football team represents Senegal in men's international association football and it is controlled by the Senegalese Football Federation, The team's nickname is the Lions of Teranga, The team became the second African team to reach the quarter finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup after Cameroon in 1990 and losing to Turkey in extra time and The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Senegal national basketball team represents Senegal in men's international basketball and it is overseen by Federation Senegalaise de basketball, five time a gold medallist, a six time silver medallist, and a four time bronze medallist at the FIBA Africa Championship. Senegal was the first Sub-Saharan African team to qualify for the Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament.
The Senegal women's national basketball team is the national basketball team representing Senegal at world and continental basketball competitions for women. It is administered by the Fédération Sénégalaise de Basket-Ball.
Although Senegal is a relatively underdeveloped country, HIV prevalence in the general population is low at around 0.08 per 1000 people, under 1% of the population. This relatively low prevalence rate is aided by the fact that few people are infected every year– in 2016, 1100 new cases were reported vs 48,000 new cases in Brazil. Senegal's death due to HIV rate, particularly when compared it to its HIV prevalence rate, is relatively high with 1600 deaths in 2016. Almost two times as many women were infected with HIV as men in 2016, and while almost three times as many women were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ARV) as men, only 52% of HIV positive people in Senegal received ARV treatment in 2016.
Idrissa Gana Gueye is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Senegal national team.
Sadio Mané is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Liverpool and the Senegal national team.
Miss-Sénégal is a national Beauty pageant in Senegal.
The Nationale 1 Masculin is the highest professional basketball league in Senegal. Established in 1971, the league consists of 16 teams.
Senegal competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from August 5 to 21, 2016. It was the nation's fourteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1964.
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.
Ismaïla Sarr is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Watford and the Senegal national team.
