Senegal

## Republic of Senegal*République du Sénégal* (French)

* Flag
* Coat of Arms
* FlagMap
* Outline Border

* Wolof, Balanta, Jola-Fonyi, Mandinka, Mandjak. Mankanya, Noon, Pulaar, Serer, Soninke

### Tallest Building

BCEAO Headquarters* **Total Height:** 87 m
* **Location:** Dakar

### Largest Mall

Sea Plaza* **Total Area:** 916 ft2
* **Location:** Dakar

### Largest Stadium

Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor* **Total Capacity:** 60,000
* **Location:** Dakar

### Tallest Statue

The African Renaissance Monument* **Total Height:** 52 meter
* **Location:** Dakar

**Senegal** (French: Sénégal; Wolof: Senegal), officially the **Republic of Senegal** (French: République du Sénégal) is a country in West Africa. In TSIGPIGS, they're both male in the mapping and object style, and compete in the team of West Africa. During the selection process Senegal was officially selected as a single candidate/contestant, and were not forced to join a union during the "lower cast mandate for MS".

## Geography

### Overall

Senegal is a very geostrategic country located in West Africa, which also influenced a huge role in what'd become the crossroads of domestic African inland empires, followed by centuries of intercontinental interaction(s). This is all because Senegal is also the door-county of Africa.

As aforementioned, the country lies in West Africa, and, in fact, the westernmost point of continental Africa lies in Senegal too. This point is called "Pointe des Almadies", in the Cap Vert Peninsula, which juts into the Atlantic Ocean. This little extension gave Senegal a geosrategic advantage, as not only for a port for shipping, but as a final destination of various Trans-Saharan trade routes that'd end here, in the ancient and modern times.

The country is surrounded by 4 other countries, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau. However, do note that the small narrow nation of The Gambia stretches from the coast, to about 2/3s of the inland. The Northern boundary with Mauritania is bounded by the Senegal River, which cuts off at the town of Ballou, follows the Falémé River for a while, and then from there, a series of dried riverbeds and arbitrary drawn lines make up the remainder of the boundaries.

### Political Geography

The country is divided into 14 provinces, with about 70% of the population living on the Western side, especially along the coast. The capital and largest city Dakar, located on the Cap Vert Peninsula.

The 2nd largest city outside the Dakar metropolitan area would be *Touba* in the D. Robel region, just East of Dakar.

#### Landmarks

Some of the topmost notable sights might include:

* Ifan African Arts Museum
* Gate of No Return (in House of Slaves, Gorée Island)
* Women's Museum (Henrith Bathily)
* Cap Manuel's Abandoned
* Museum of Black Civilizations (in Dakar)
* Senegal Stone Circles
* Mosquee Massalikul Jinaan (Pathways unto Heaven)
* Grande Mosquee de Touba
* Grande Mosquee de Dakar
* Mosquee de la Divinite
* African Renaissance Monument (also the largest in Africa, symbolizing defiance tradition and the country's future with prosperity)

### Physical Geography

Senegal unsurprisingly got their name from the Senegal River. Historically, the rivers were seen by outsiders as the transition zone between the Sahara and the Savannahs. This is why this place was so important to numerous people groups; it meant water, and with water, you get life.

Senegal geographically lies between 3 main eco-climactic zones.

* In the very North, there's the "Sahel". This is the driest and hottest part of the country, characetrized by its semi-arid landscaping climate
* In the middle of the nation, there's the "*Sudanian* Savannah". This includes wide expansion of grasslands and tree.
* In the remaining southernmost part of the country, there's the "Guinea Lowlands". This is characterized more lush tropical greenery, as well as flora and fauna diversity.

The country is relatively flat all around. The reason why is that Senegal sits on the basins of 4 main rivers

* Casamance River in the South,
* Gambia River (which is cut because of The Gambia's existence),
* Saloum River in the center, and
* Senegal River, which is the largest and longest river in the country.

From there, the country only has a few natural lakes and ponds. They even have a cool pink lake named "Lake *Retba*", or Lake Rose. The largest lake, however, would be Lac Guiers. This is also the largest freshwater source of the country, and numerous pipes go from here to nourish the capital of Dakar. Also, as the country is situated right at the confluence of the deserts and forests, the country has been dealing with desertification for decades. Many people also have lost farmlands in the North due to less and less rainfall annually. Every year, during the "Dry" Season (December-April) a large hot dry dust wind, known as the "*Harmattan*", pummels the North side of the country with powerful dust forms, which are indeed a factor in destroying the arable land.

To combat this, Senegal has "teamed up" with 10 other African states to initiate the phases of The Green Wall Project; a natural barrier of trees 9 miles wide, and extending over 4300 miles (6920 km) from coast-to-coast starting from Senegal to Djibouti to combat the encroaching Saharan Desert from spreading.

### Flora and Fauna

For Senegal, much of the natural wildlife has been pushed out into the western parts of the country due to human development.
Nonetheless, the country still has almost a 190 mammal species, and over 670 bird species.

The highest concentration of wildlife can be found in the *Nikolo Koba* National Park. Here, the land is much lush, with woodland savannah species, like:

* Cheetahs
* Antelopes
* Elephants
* Lions, which are also the national animal.
* Crocodiles
* Hippos
* Certain Migratory Birds, like:
	+ Black Crowned Crane
	+ Abyssinian Hornbill
	+ Martial Eagle

## Economy

### Exports/Imports

#### Agricultural Sector

Senegal is technically place where dry meets wet, where there are arid savannahs with powerful rivers that cut through them. This means that not only do they have a thriving fishing industry, but also, they have 3/4ths of the land is arable, and about 3/4 of the population is actually involved in the agricultural industry. Despite being a country of semi-arid land, however, there agricultural industry generally produce cash crops (peanuts), like also in colonial times. Due to there production of peanuts, they became the 10th largest producer of peanuts in the world.

### Tourism

Another source of revenue for Senegal comes from the booming tourism industry, especially amongst Europes/American *Francophonie* visitors. A nice spot to explore on would be the cities and beaches, which are not only the top destinations, but also, some come for the various nature reserves speckled throughout the interior.

They also have really cool sights, like the *Diendefelo* Waterfall, *Kedougou*.

## Food

Fish is a huge part of their diet. in fact, they love seafood so much that they made an entire island built out of seashells (*Fadiouth* Shell Island); even the buildings there have seashells in the bricks. Otherwise, some top notable dishes from Senegal might include:

* *Yassa*
* Maafé
* Capitaine à la Saint-Louisienne (Stuffed Perch)
* *Thiakry* (Sweet Millet Pudding)
* Bassi-Salté
* *Soupou Kandia*
* Nems Spring Roll (Influenced from Vietnam)
* Thièbou Dienne/*Thiebou Yap* (*Jolof* Rice; National Dish)

Senegalese usually eat their national dish with fish, but other meats can also be added. This dish is popular amongst pretty much almost all of West Africa, and they all have their own versions of it. However, Senegal is the origin country of Jolof country, and can be proved by the dish's name "**Jolof** Rice", where "Jolof" stands out for the Jolof Kingdom of Senegal.

## Demographics

### Tradition & Culture

Senegalese people all commonly obey the tradition of "*Teranga*", which is technically the reason that differentiates Senegalese people from other Africans. It implies sense of tolerance, hospitality, and discipline that they have. Despite the fact that Senegal is a commonplace for Muslims, they still give religion tolerance and avoid religious discrimination, as also because Senegal is one of the few African countries to never experience a Coup D-état.

Also, during colonial times when the French were around, Senegal actually had the best opportunity to be educated. Due to the fact that French was the common educational-administrative language, Senegalese French also seemed like Metropolitan French therefore after. This also means that they're who witnessed a lot of the harsh past of Africa, because of the usage of a Senegalese island called "Gorée Island", where most of the people got deported from, because of which Senegal is also the last anchorage of those people from their roots.

Overall, the Senegalese together are a patchwork of different tribes and different cultures, which includes different languages, cultures, and lifestyles, which ultimately leads to the curiosity of the Senegalese as a whole. They're also not afraid of discovering other tribes or other cultures within Africa, and also not being afraid to mix modernity and traditionalism.

### Ethnicities

First off, the country has bout 16 million people, and about 20 ethnic groups, that speak about 40 different languages. Of these ethnic groups, the one that has the highest population would be the Wolof ethnic group, comprising of about 41% of the entire Senegalese population. Next are the *Fula/Peul* at about 18% of the population, followed by the *Serer* at about 16%, the *Mandinka* at 14%, and the remaining 11% consists of different other ethnic groups, mostly native African, but 2% in these are either Lebanese or European. Plus, there also Asian ethics, which are mostly Vietnamese.

Each ethnic group, however, has their own unique quality. In summary, the Wolof being the largest ethnic group dominate the entire country, the business, and the overall industry.

* The Wolof are also known for having some of the fastest drums and dancing in all of Africa, as well as really cool celebrations and art.
* The Serer/Fula people are basically the cousins of the Wolof people, with the only difference being that Serer decided to settle along the coast. They did work a little bit with the Wolof people, whereas, the Fula people are like the semi-nomadic herdsmen in the rather interior of the country.
* The *Sominke* are like the descendants of the former Ghana empire, and therefore their lineage goes way back.
* The *Lebu* are mostly fishermen, and wealthy land owners. They're also like the cousins of Cape Verde.
* The *Bassari* are ancient people that lie in the rocky highlands of the *Fouta Djallon* area.
* The *Diola/Jola* people are, like, the "Southerners", and are well-experienced when it comes to cooking. They also get along well with The Gambia.
* The *Casamance* people have a rather higher population of Christians and Animists. They're also the home to Senegal's only internal conflict zone; they've a lingering independence movement that has been going on since the 80s.

## Religion

About 95% of the country is Muslim, and the rest are mostly Christians and some Animists. However, Senegal lives by the "La Läicté" or the "Secular Law System". This invokes and encourages inner faith camaraderie. For instance, the first leader of Senegal was actually a Christian, one of the minorities. The different religions also like to celebrate each others' festivals as a whole. However, since the country is predominantly Muslim, Islam plays a huge role, and, like most of North Africa, it falls within the "Sunni *Maliki* of Thought" with Sufi Influences role, divided into *tariqas* or brotherhoods.

Basically, Senegal has one of the largest religious pilgrimages, on Earth, the Grand *Magal*. It takes place at the Grand Mosque of Touba, to celebrate the teachings of *Sheikh Amadou Banmba*.

## Language

* French is the official language of the country.
* However, the Wolof language is actually the Lingua-Franca, used by more people across the entire country, regardless of the ethnicities.

## Transportation

### Via Land

The country has 2 main rail lines, operated by the nation company Transrail, one that goes North from Dakar to St. Louis, and the other that goes West to East into Mali at the town of *Kidira*, and extends further into the country of Niger.

### Via Air

The largest and busiest international airport is the *Blaiysdan* International, which was built because the former busiest airport Léopold Sédar Senghor International was too small and compact.

From there, about 20 other smaller regional airports and airstrips, but the only ones with regular scheduled service would be Cap *Skirring* and *Zinguinchor*.

### Via Sea

The country has 8 main ports on their coasts, and the busiest and biggest one that contributes about 90% of the entire country's trade, being the Port of Dakar

## Vexillology

Senegal retained the green-yellow-red flag but substituted a green star for the *kanaga*. Green is seen as a symbol of hope and of the country’s major religions, while yellow is for natural riches and the wealth derived from labor. Red recalls the independence struggle, life, and socialism.

### Inspiration

The 3 pan-African colors had been used by individual political parties in Senegal in the 1950s and were also adopted by many nearby countries for their national flags, including Benin, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, and others.

## Trivia

* Over half of the population are actually rural and small villages spread throughout the nation.
* During French colonial time, St. Louis actually not only used to be the capital of Senegal for over 200 years, but also the capital of the entire French West-African Colony from 1895-1902.
	+ Later, Dakar was made the colony capital until independence in 1960.
* Dakar was one of the main ports of transport for the Atlantic Slave Trade, and today, many Africans in Diaspora come in to Gorée Island, which is also where many of the in-slaved were sold and transferred.
* It's also important to note that right after independence, they also had some joint spin-offs with other nations, like the Mali Federation, and the Senegambia Confederation.
* Surprisingly, North Korea was the one who made African Renaissance Monument.
	+ Not only that, they've also built a monument in Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.
* The highest point of Senegal (near *Nepen Diakha*) is an unnamed hill 648 m (2126 ft) high.
* Humorously, the Atlantic Ocean flows into the Atlantic Ocean, but doesn't break off into a fan tributary.
	+ It's actually blocked by the *Barabarie* Split, along the Sandbar Beach extending Northwards to Mauritania, that almost completely shield the river from exiting into the ocean.
		- However, the split opens at one main breakaway near the town of Tassinérie.
* Interestingly, even with desertification, they still manage to have an average 7% of industrial production growth rate in the past few years.
	+ This is partially in-thanks to the Emergency Senegal Plan (or ESP for short), announced in 2012, and partially funded by the IMF.
* Senegal also has a huge national bird sanctuary area, the *Djoudj* National Bird Sanctuary, a heaven for even more exotic species, like the African Spoonbill, Purple Heron, White Pelican, and Comorant.
* Senegal uses the West African CFA Franc as their currency.
* Senegalese usually choose the types C, D, E, and F plug outlets.
* They drive on the right side of the road.
* Senegal is also renowned for having the "very crucial" cloth of "*Seurou Rabal*".
	+ They use this cloth to wrap their babies around with, and use it on marriages, and also wrap the dead with it.