Country · Africa
Senegal
Republic of Senegal
The Senegal is a country in Western Africa. About 15.9 million people live there, in an area of 196 722 square kilometres. Its capital city is Dakar.
Picture credit: Kabkia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Dorothy Voorhees (CC BY-SA 2.0) · August Dominus (CC0) · August Dominus (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Senegal?
The 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: the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania.
How big is the Senegal?
The 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.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in the Senegal?
About 15.9 million people live in the 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 the Senegal
The land of the 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 the Senegal different?
A dish the country is known for: Thieboudienne.
Websites from here often end in .sn.
The Senegal and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 2 live in the Senegal.
It takes up about 0.15 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 34th of 54 by size, and 23rd by population.
The 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, 4 live wild in the Senegal: Chimpanzee, Emperor scorpion, Warthog and Ball python. The highest mountain in the country is the Baunez Ridge near Nepen Diakha, at 648 metres. The longest river in the country is the Senegal. The largest lake in the country is Lac de Guiers.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is the Senegal compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 48 times as big as the Senegal: 9 372 610 km² against 196 722 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 1.2 times as big as the Senegal: 242 900 km² against 196 722 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of the Senegal?
The capital of the Senegal is Dakar. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in the Senegal?
About 15.9 million people live in the Senegal, which makes it the 70th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border the Senegal?
The Senegal borders the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania — 5 neighbours in total.
How big is the Senegal?
The 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.
What is the highest mountain in the Senegal?
The highest mountain in the Senegal is the Baunez Ridge near Nepen Diakha, 648 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in the Senegal?
The longest river in the Senegal is the Senegal. Of its 1 086 kilometres, about 813 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in the Senegal?
The largest lake in the Senegal is Lac de Guiers. It covers about 170 km².
Which continent is the Senegal in?
The 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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