Senegal is a country in West Africa its bordered by Mauritania in 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 covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometers (76,000 sq. mi) and has a population of 18,066,168 as of Monday, July 3, 2023, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.

It is a unitary presidential republic and is the westernmost country in the mainland of the Old World, or Afro-Eurasia, and owes its name to the Senegal River, which borders it to the east and north.

Macky Sall is a Senegalese politician who has been President of Senegal since April 2012.

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 climate is typically Sahelian, though there is a season.

The economy of Senegal is driven by mining, construction, tourism, fishing, and agriculture, which are the main sources of employment in rural areas.

Despite abundant natural resources in iron, zircon, gas, gold, phosphates, and numerous oil discoveries,   recently Senegal’s economy gains most of its foreign exchange from fish, phosphates, groundnuts, tourism, and services.

As one of the dominant 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. The modernization and development of agro-processing industries are at the top of the administration’s development agenda.

The country also features a robust petroleum refining industry, which is set to grow as hydrocarbon discoveries off the coast are due to be extracted by 2022, providing a new source of revenue. Notable companies with headquarters in Senegal are (Air Senegal International, Atlantis Airline, Dakar-Niger Railway, Groupement Aerien Senegalais, Ikatel, Senegal Airlines, senelec, and sonatel)

USAID’s goal for the Senegal 2020-2025 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) is for Senegal to be better able to plan and finance inclusive development by implementing key reforms; actively engaging with a strengthened private sector and a vibrant civil society; and harnessing the potential of women and youth.

Senegal has a youthful population they represent 55% of the 17 million population. The average age was 22 years. Senegal is one of the countries whose youth development index scores improved by at least 10% since 2010. The improvement was due to an increase in secondary school enrollment and/or literacy rates and the reduction in adolescent fertility and youth mortality rates.