Senegal (2001) | Sierra Leone (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.07% (male 2,279,996; female 2,252,255) 15-64 years: 52.88% (male 2,603,829; female 2,834,328) 65 years and over: 3.05% (male 155,877; female 158,644) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.7% (male 1,318,508/female 1,371,164)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,068/female 1,637,276) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 93,047/female 103,580) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 20 (2000 est.) | 10 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
10 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
196,190 sq km land: 192,000 sq km water: 4,190 sq km |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Dakota | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Independent from France in 1960, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However, the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks, a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. | The 1991 to 2002 civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population), many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. With the support of the UN peacekeeping force and contributions from the World Bank and international community, demobilization and disarmament of the RUF and Civil Defense Forces (CDF) combatants has been completed. National elections were held in May 2002 and the government continues to slowly reestablish its authority. However, the gradual withdrawal of most UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) peacekeepers in 2004 and early 2005, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to the continuation of Sierra Leone's stability. |
Birth rate | 37.46 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.84 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$885 million expenditures: $885 million, including capital expenditures of $125 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Dakar | Freetown |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 531 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 3 March 1963, revised 1991 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Senegal conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | - |
Death rate | 8.35 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.61 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.1 billion (1998 est.) | $1.5 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Harriet L. ELAM-THOMAS embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 823-4296, 823-7384 FAX: [221] 822-2991 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mamadou Mansour SECK chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
Economic aid - recipient | $647.5 million (1995) | $103 million (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which is linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually in 1995-99. Annual inflation has been pushed down to 2%, and the fiscal deficit has been cut to less than 1.5% of GDP. Investment rose steadily from 13.8% of GDP in 1993 to 16.5% in 1997. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. Real GDP growth is expected to rise above 6%, while inflation is likely to hold at 2% in 2001-02. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Plans to reopen bauxite and rutile mines shut down during an 11 year civil war have not been implemented due to lack of foreign investment. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. International financial institutions contributed over $600 million in development aid and budgetary support in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.181 billion kWh (1999) | 237.4 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.27 billion kWh (1999) | 255.3 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1966); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | leones per US dollar - 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001), 2,092.1 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Madior BOYE (since 3 March 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51% |
chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4% |
Exports | $959 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Exports - commodities | fish, ground nuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish (1999) |
Exports - partners | France 17%, India 17%, Italy 12%, Spain 6%, Mali 6%, Cote d'Ivoire 4% (1999) | Belgium 61.6%, Germany 11.8%, US 5.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $16 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
19% industry: 20% services: 61% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 30% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2000 est.) | 6% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 00 N, 14 00 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
Heliports | - | 2 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
14,576 km paved: 4,271 km unpaved: 10,305 km (1996) |
total: 11,300 km
paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.4% highest 10%: 42.8% (1991) |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis | - |
Imports | $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foods and beverages, consumer goods, capital goods, petroleum products | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals (1995) |
Imports - partners | France 30%, Nigeria 7%, Italy 6%, Thailand 5%, Germany 4%, US 4% (1999) | Germany 14%, Cote d'Ivoire 10.7%, UK 9.1%, US 8.4%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5%, South Africa 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 4 April 1960 (from France); complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (1998 est.) | NA |
Industries | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials | diamonds mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 56.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 143.64 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 161.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 125.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 710 sq km (1993 est.) | 290 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note-the judicial system was reformed in 1992 | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | NA | 1.369 million (1981 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 60% | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total:
2,640 km border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km |
total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land:
12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 16% forests and woodland: 54% other: 18% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 6.98%
permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.13% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 |
unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
62.56 years male: 60.94 years female: 64.22 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 39.87 years
male: 37.74 years female: 42.06 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 33.1% male: 43% female: 23.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 29.6% male: 39.8% female: 20.5% (2000 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,435 GRT/8,750 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 2 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale) | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $68 million (FY97) | $13.2 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY97) | 1.7% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,311,063 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,207,360 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
114,189 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 April (1960) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun:
Senegalese (singular and plural) adjective: Senegalese |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | fish, phosphates, iron ore | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Senegalese Democratic Party-Renewal or PDS-R [Serigne Lamine DIOP, secretary general]; Senegalese Democratic Union-Renewal or UDS-R [Mamadou Puritain FALL]; Socialist Party or PS [President Abdou DIOUF]; SOPI Coalition (a 40-party coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties | All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others |
Political pressure groups and leaders | labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers | trade unions and student unions |
Population | 10,284,929 (July 2001 est.) | 6,017,643 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.93% (2001 est.) | 2.22% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor | Freetown, Pepel, Sherbro Islands |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | 1.24 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
906 km narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (70 km double track) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 92%, indigenous beliefs 6%, Christian 2% (mostly Roman Catholic) | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
good system domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system international: 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 116,000 (1997) | 24,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,149 (1996) | 67,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 5.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.72 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA%; urban youth 40% | NA |
Waterways | 897 km
note: 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the Saloum river |
800 km (2003) |