The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982, but the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until current President Abdoulaye WADE was elected in 2000. He was reelected in February 2007, but has amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and weaken the opposition, part of the President's increasingly autocratic governing style. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation.
Population: 13,711,597 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 42.2% (male 2,911,324/female 2,877,804)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 3,728,664/female 3,786,000)
65 years and over: 3% (male 190,343/female 217,462) (2009 est.)
Birth Rate: 36.84 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death Rate: 9.75 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
Infant mortality Rate:
total: 58.94 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 39
male: 65.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 51.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy:
total population: 59 years
country comparison to the world: 188
male: 57.12 years
female: 60.93 years (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 67,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 1,800 (2007 est.)
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%
Religions: Muslim 94%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic), indigenous beliefs 1%
Languages: French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 39.3%
male: 51.1%
female: 29.2% (2002 est.)
Government Type: republic
Capital: Dakar
Geographic coordinates: 14 40 N, 17 26 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Independence: 4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF)
Population below poverty line: 54% (2001 est.)

Transnational Issues:
Disputes - international:
The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem separatist violence, cross border raids, and arms smuggling into their countries from Senegal's Casamance region, and in 2006, respectively accepted 6,000 and 10,000 Casamance residents fleeing the conflict; 2,500 Guinea-Bissau residents fled into Senegal in 2006 to escape armed confrontations along the border.

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 19,630 (Mauritania)
IDPs: 22,400 (approximately 65% of the IDP population returned in 2005, but new displacement is occurring due to clashes between government troops and separatists in Casamance region) (2007).

Illicit drugs:
Transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis.

**Information retreived from CIA - The World Factbook: www.cia.gov