Economical overview
Senegal is a poor country whose population is
mainly dependent on agriculture and fishing. At the same
time, it has been more developed since the colonial era
and has a more robust economy than most countries in
West Africa. The infrastructure is fairly well developed
and the industry somewhat varied. The country is also a
regional financial center.
Peanuts in more or less processed form accounted for
most of the export income for many years, which made the
economy vulnerable to fluctuations in the world market
price. As the fishing industry became more and more
important, the economic significance of peanuts
gradually diminished. Since the end of the 1980s, fish
and fish products have been most important for exports,
followed by phosphates and phosphate products. Tourism
is also an important source of foreign exchange, as well
as money sent home by Senegalese working abroad.
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Countryaah.com:
Major imports by Senegal, covering a full list of top products imported by the country and trade value for each product category.
Despite the advantageous situation in the region,
Senegal is classified by the UN as one of the least
developed countries in the world, based among other
things on low gross domestic product (GDP) per
inhabitant and a relatively unilateral economic base. At
the UN agency UNDP's index of human development in the
world, in 2014 Senegal ranked 163 out of 187 countries.
The import note is larger than the export revenue and
the dependency on aid is large. Senegal has received
major debt relief in the context of the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund (IMF) initiative for
particularly indebted poor countries (HIPC) and special
debt write-offs agreed by the world's richest industries
in 2005. Lower interest costs and increased assistance
have freed up resources for major capital-intensive
investments, such as new airport (see Communications).
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Abbreviationfinder.org: Check this abbreviation website to find three letter ISO codes for all countries in the world, including SEN which represents the country of Senegal.
Growth averaged around 5 percent from the mid-1990s
into the 2000s. A slowdown occurred in 2006 due to a
fall in phosphate production, the same thing happened in
connection with the global financial churn in 2009. Then
both the flow of tourists and foreign investment and
money shipments from Senegalese abroad decreased. Growth
averaged 4 percent in the first decade of the 2000s,
while it fell marginally to 3.5 percent in the first
half of the 2010s.
It is considered a decent growth but it is not enough
to alleviate widespread poverty, especially as the
population is also growing rapidly. An impediment to the
development of, not least, the industry is shortcomings
in the energy supply, with constant power cuts as a
result (see Natural Resources and Energy). The risk of
continued weak economic development in key European
markets makes the economic outlook uncertain.
The Sall Government (2012–) has failed to fulfill its
election promises on more jobs and lower cost of living,
although it has lowered the price of certain basic
commodities, such as rice, and also lowered some
interest rates. A national strategy for economic and
social development was presented in 2012, which among
other things meant that the average annual growth should
be 7 percent from 2017 and that 350,000 new jobs should
be created. In 2013, a financial aid program was
launched to reach a quarter of a million poor households
by 2017. Another goal was to make basic healthcare
accessible to at least 65 percent of the population. A
number of development projects in agriculture,
infrastructure, transport and tourism were also
launched.
Senegal is part of the so-called franc zone, which is
a regional currency union. Since the CFA franc was
devalued in 1994, inflation has been low.
The dependency on aid has been high since
independence in 1960. The official development
assistance (ODA) per inhabitant has decreased slightly,
from $ 80 in 2011 to $ 70 two years later. The largest
individual donors are France and the United States,
while the EU and the World Bank are important
multilateral donors. Direct investments mainly come from
China, India and countries in the Middle East.
FACTS - FINANCE
GDP per person
US $ 1,522 (2018)
Total GDP
US $ 24 130 million (2018)
GDP growth
6.8 percent (2018)
Agriculture's share of GDP
16.6 percent (2018)
Manufacturing industry's share of GDP
18.7 percent (2018)
The service sector's share of GDP
50.4 percent (2018)
Inflation
1.0 percent (2019)
Government debt's share of GDP
61.6 percent (2018)
External debt
US $ 8,886 million (2017)
Currency
West African Franc
Merchandise exports
US $ 3,278 million (2017)
Imports
US $ 5,973 million (2017)
Current account
- US $ 1,522 million (2017)
Commodity trade's share of GDP
47 percent (2018)
Main export goods
fish, peanuts, phosphate, chemicals
Largest trading partner
Mali, India, France, Italy, Nigeria, Germany
2009
October
Struggles between government forces and the separatist movement MFDC
In the southern Casamance region, fighting between government forces and the
separatist movement MFDC is escalating, with several casualties as a result (for
background see Modern History and the Conflict in Casamance).
New Foreign Minister
Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, who has held the post since Wade took
office in 2000, is replaced. The Minister is reported to have difficulty for
President Zone Karim Wade and to disagree with the President about his
controversial support for the military junta that recently took power in Guinea
(see Guinea, Modern History).
September
Protests against the government
Demonstrations erupt in protest of the government's slow response to the
severe flooding affecting Dakar's poor district. The protests also target the
recurring electricity outages.
Criticism against the President
President Wade announces his intention to stand for re-election in 2012. The
announcement receives criticism as Senegal's president may only be re-elected
once under the Constitution (Wade had won the 2000 and 2007 presidential
elections). However, Wade's party PDS emphasizes that the rule did not exist
when Wade became president for the first time and that he can thus run for
another term (see Political system and Modern history).
April
The Prime Minister resigns
Prime Minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré resigns for "personal reasons" and is
succeeded by PDS veteran Souleymane Ndéné Ndiaye. In his new government,
President Son Karim Wade gets a ministerial post. He is given responsibility for
a kind of super department, which includes international cooperation and
communications, among other things. Critics believe the president is working for
his son to succeed him in connection with the February 2012 presidential
election.
March
Local and regional elections
Local and regional elections are held. The opposition is gathered in the
alliance Benno Siggil Senegaal and is doing well. It takes home the victory in
the capital Dakar (formerly a stronghold of President Abdoulaye Wade) and
several other major cities. President Wade's son Karim Wade is elected to the
Dakar Municipal Council on behalf of the ruling alliance Sopis. Sopi is
dominated by President Wade's Senegal Democratic Party (PDS).
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