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Senegal

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Countries;
Countries

   SOS Children works in Senegal. For more information see SOS Children in
   Senegal, Africa
                République du Sénégal
   Republic of Senegal

   Flag of Senegal Coat of arms of Senegal
   Flag            Coat of arms
   Motto: "Un Peuple, Un But, Une Foi"  (French)
   "One People, One Goal, One Faith"
   Anthem: Pincez Tous vos Koras, Frappez les Balafons
   Location of Senegal
   Capital
   (and largest city) Dakar
                      14°40′N 17°25′W
   Official languages French
   Government         Republic
    - President       Abdoulaye Wade
    - Prime Minister  Macky Sall
      Independence
    - from France     June 20, 1960
                          Area
    - Total           196,722 km² ( 87th)
                      75,955 sq mi
    - Water (%)       2.1
                       Population
    - 2005 estimate   11,658,000 ( 72nd)
    - Density         59/km² ( 137th)
                      153/sq mi
       GDP ( PPP)     2005 estimate
    - Total           $20.504 billion ( 109th)
    - Per capita      $1,759 ( 149th)
      HDI  (2006)     0.460 (low) ( 156th)
        Currency      CFA franc ( XOF)
       Time zone      UTC ( UTC)
      Internet TLD    .sn
      Calling code    +221

   Senegal (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal, is a
   country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is
   bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north,
   Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south. The Gambia
   lies almost entirely within Senegal, surrounded on the north, east and
   south; from its western coast, The Gambia's territory follows the
   Gambia River more than 300 km inland. The Cape Verde islands lie some
   560 km (348 miles) off the Senegalese coast.

History

   Senegal has a very varied cultural history and a history of kingdoms,
   empires, brotherhoods and colonial struggles (between and against
   colonizing powers). Various kingdoms and empires have ruled various
   parts of Senegal:

   Eastern Senegal was once part of the Empire of Ghana. The Kingdom of
   Tekrur was founded by the Tukulor in the middle valley of the Senegal
   River. The Senegalese Empire of Jolof (Diolof) at one time included the
   Kingdoms of Waalo, Bethio, Cayor, Baol, and parts of Sine and Saloum.
   All of these later split from Jolof, which remained as a kingdom until
   conquered by the French. The kingdoms of Saloum, Sine and Biffeche
   continue today along with tributary monarchies like Gandiaye, and the
   hereditary Princes of Bethio and Jolof (whose kingdoms no longer exist)
   are still locally revered. The Layene today is a small theocracy of the
   Lebou people, at Yoff near Dakar, ruled by a Grand-Khalifa. Waalo,
   Cayor, Beetyo were ethnic Wolof kingdoms, while Sine, Saloum and
   sometimes Baol were ethnic Serer kingdoms. The Biffeche kingdom has
   passed among different ethnic groups. The empire of Jolof was of course
   dominated by the Wolof ethnic group (derived from that word). Waalo,
   followed by Jolof, Cayor, Baol, Sine and Saloum were all conquered by
   the French in the 19th Century.

   A noteworthy feature of the Wolof, Serer and other ethnic groups is a
   somewhat rigid "caste" system with complicated classes. The Jola are
   more egalitarian. There is a paradox in that the modern, democratic
   Senegal state has abolished most official caste distinctions, yet most
   Senegalese cling to, and many often enjoy, their inegalitarian
   traditions.

   Separate from the institutions of the state, and from the kingdoms, is
   the important system of Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal, including the
   Xaadir (Qadriyya), the Tijanes (Tidianes) and the Mourides. These are a
   powerful influence in Senegalese life and politics.

   The two main recent exceptions to the ethnic harmony described above
   are an ongoing, low-level violent struggle for autonomy, mostly by
   Jola, in Casamance in the South (south of The Gambia), and, in
   1989-1993, a series of violent black attacks on the Moors in
   retaliation for violent attacks on blacks in Mauritania, which erupted
   from a single dispute over a grazing camel. Most Moors left Senegal
   after hundreds were killed.

Demographics

   Senegal's population, 1961-2003
   Enlarge
   Senegal's population, 1961-2003

   Senegal has a population of some 11 million, about 70 percent of whom
   live in rural areas. Density in these areas varies from about 77 km² in
   the west-central region to 2 km² in the arid eastern section.

Ethnicity

   Senegal has a wide variety of ethnic groups and, as in most West
   African countries, several languages are widely spoken. The Wolof are
   the largest single ethnic group in Senegal at 43%; the Fula and Tukulor
   (24%) are the second biggest group, followed by others that include the
   Serer (15%), Lebou (10%), Jola (4%), [[Mandinka
   people|Mandinka]3%],[Maures orNaarkajors], Toucouleur, Soninke, Bassari
   and many smaller communities (9%). About 50,000 Europeans (1%) (mostly
   French) as well as smaller numbers of Mauritanians and Lebanese reside
   in Senegal, mainly in the cities. Also located primarily in urban
   settings are the minority Chinese and Vietnamese communities. From the
   time of earliest contact between Europeans and Africans along the coast
   of Senegal, particularly after the establishment of coastal trading
   posts during the fifteenth century, communities of mixed African and
   European (mostly French and Portuguese) origin have thrived. Cape
   Verdeans living in urban areas and in the Casamance region represent
   another recognized community of mixed African and European background.
   French is the official language, used regularly by a minority of
   Senegalese educated in a system styled upon the colonial-era schools of
   French origin (Koranic schools are even more popular, but Arabic is not
   widely spoken outside of this context of recitation). Most people also
   speak their own ethnic language while, especially in Dakar, Wolof is
   the Lingua Franca. Portuguese Creole is a prominent minority language
   in Ziguinchor, regional capital of the Casamance, where some residents
   speak Kriol, primarily spoken in Guinea-Bissau. Cape Verdeans speak
   their native creole.

Religion

   Islam is the predominant religion, practiced by approximately 94
   percent of the country's population; the Christian community, at 4
   percent of the population, includes Roman Catholics and diverse
   Protestant denominations. There is also a tiny minority who practice
   animism,particularly in the southeastern region of the country.

Islam

   Mosquée de la Divinité, Ouakam, Senegal.
   Enlarge
   Mosquée de la Divinité, Ouakam, Senegal.

   Islamic communities are generally organized around one of several
   Islamic Sufi orders or brotherhoods, headed by a khalif (xaliifa in
   Wolof, from Arabic khalīfa), who is usually a direct descendant of the
   group’s founder. The two largest and most prominent Sufi orders in
   Senegal are the Tijaniyya, whose largest sub-groups are based in the
   cities of Tivaouane and Kaolack, and the Murīdiyya (Murid), based in
   the city of Touba. The Halpulaar, a widespread ethnic group found along
   the Sahel from Chad to Senegal, representing 20 percent of the
   Senegalese population, were the first to be converted to Islam. The
   Halpulaar, composed of various Fula people groups, named Peuls and
   Toucouleurs in Senegal. Many of the Toucouleurs, or sedentary Halpulaar
   of the Senegal River Valley in the north, converted to Islam around a
   millennium ago and later contributed to Islam's propagation throughout
   Senegal. Most communities south of the Senegal River Valley, however,
   were not thoroughly Islamized until the nineteenth and early twentieth
   centuries. During the mid-nineteenth century, Islam became a banner of
   resistance against the traditional aristocracies and French
   colonialism, and Tijānī leaders Al-Hajj Umar Tall and Màbba Jaxu Ba
   established short-lived but influential Islamic states but were both
   killed in battle and their empires than annexed by the French.

   The spread of formal Quranic school (called daara in Wolof) during the
   colonial period increased largely through the effort of the Tijaniyya.
   In Murid communities, which place more emphasis on the work ethic than
   on literary Quranic studies, the term daara often applies to work
   groups devoted to working for a religious leader. Other Islamic groups
   include the much older Qādiriyya order and the Senegalese Laayeen
   order, which is prominent among the coastal Lebu. Today, most
   Senegalese children study at daaras for several years, memorizing as
   much of the Qur'an as they can. Some of them continue their religious
   studies at informal Arabic schools (majlis) or at the growing number of
   private Arabic schools and publicly funded Franco-Arabic schools.

Christianity

   Small Roman Catholic communities are mainly found in coastal Serer,
   Jola, Mankanya and Balant populations, and in Oriental Senegal among
   the Bassari and Coniagui. In Dakar, Catholic and Protestant rites are
   also practiced by a portion of the Lebanese, Capeverdian, European, and
   American immigrant population, and among certain Africans of other
   countries. Although Islam is Senegal's majority religion, Senegal's
   first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, was a Catholic Serer.

Other religions

   Other religions in Senegal are mostly Animism, followed by Judaism and
   Buddhism. Judaism is followed by any people beyond racial lines and
   Buddhism is followed by a number of Chinese and Vietnamese.

Administrative divisions

   The Gambia River winds through the Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal.
   Enlarge
   The Gambia River winds through the Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal.

   Senegal is divided into eleven regions (régions) and subdivided into
   thirty-four departments (départements), ninety-four arrondissements and
   multiple communes. The regions are:
     * Dakar
     * Diourbel
     * Fatick
     * Kaolack

                 * Kolda
                 * Louga
                 * Matam
                 * Saint-Louis

                                * Tambacounda
                                * Thiès
                                * Ziguinchor

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