In the northern part of the country, south of the Senegal Basin, lies the arid Fouta Ferlo, a hot dry Sahelian plain with little vegetation. Republic since 1963. The official language is French. There are many local languages, the principal one being Wolof. 220 volts AC, 50Hz.
Some hotels also have fax machines.
There are facilities at main post offices and several hotels. Airmail to Europe takes between seven and ten days, and surface mail between two and six weeks. All newspapers are in French and nearly all are controlled directly by political parties. From time to time these change. UK Europe WorldWide, excl.