Country · Africa
Senegal
Republic of Senegal
Senegal is a country in Western Africa. Its capital city is Dakar. About 15.9 million people live there, in an area of 196 722 square kilometres.
Picture credit: Vincenzo Fotoguru Iaconianni (CC BY-SA 2.5) · H. Grobe (CC BY 3.0) · Kabkia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · August Dominus (CC0) · August Dominus (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Senegal?
Senegal lies in Western Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 558 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 531 km long.
It shares a border with 5 countries: Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania.
How big is Senegal?
Senegal covers 196 722 square kilometres.
That is about 4.8 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 86th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 80.6 people on every square kilometre.
Who lives in Senegal?
About 15.9 million people live in Senegal.
That is the 70th biggest population in the world.
People here speak French.
They pay with the West African CFA franc (Fr).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 62 years.
The land of Senegal
The land in Senegal sits on average 69 metres above sea level, which makes it one of the flatter countries on Earth.
Its coast runs for about 531 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 27 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Senegal different?
A dish the country is known for: Thieboudienne.
Websites from here often end in .sn.
Senegal and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 2 live in Senegal.
It takes up about 0.15 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa it is the 34th largest of 54 countries, and the 23rd most populated.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Senegal and its neighbours
Mali, its largest neighbour, is about 6.3 times bigger.
Mali has more people: 19.1 million against 15.9 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 1 live wild in Senegal: Chimpanzee.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Senegal?
The capital of Senegal is Dakar. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Senegal?
About 15.9 million people live in Senegal, which makes it the 70th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Senegal?
Senegal borders Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania — 5 neighbours in total.
How big is Senegal?
Senegal covers 196 722 square kilometres, making it the 86th largest country in the world. That is about 4.8 times the size of Switzerland.
Which continent is Senegal in?
Senegal is in Africa, in the part called Western Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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