Where Is Senegal and What
Is It Known For?

Senegal lies on the Atlantic coast of west Africa. The north is arid semi-desert, while the south is mainly fertile tropical with summer rains, although droughts occur.

Senegal owes its name to the river that borders it to the East and North and that originates from the Fouta Djallon in Guinea. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 km², and has an estimated population of about 14 million.

One-fifth of the population lives in and around Dakar, the capital and main port. About 300 miles off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands.

Fish, groundnuts and phosphates are the main exports. France is the main trading partner.