Overview - Senegal

Senegal is a country south of the Senegal River in western Africa that gained its independence in 1960. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and shares borders with Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost entirely surrounds Gambia, except the narrow Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal spreads over a land area of almost 197,000 sq km, and has an estimated population of about 13.7 million. The capital Dakar is one of the busiest cities in western Africa, and lies on the westernmost tip of the continent. With 1 million habitants, it is also the biggest city of the country with all official buildings, a well developed transportation system and international connections. The main language spoken in Senegal is French, due to the colonial legacy, but dozens of regional languages are still used as of today by the population.