Senegal: People & Society#
| Population | 14,320,055 (July 2016 est.) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | noun: Senegalese (singular and plural) adjective: Senegalese |
| Ethnic groups | Wolof 38.7%, Pular 26.5%, Serer 15%, Mandinka 4.2%, Jola 4%, Soninke 2.3%, other 9.3% (includes Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent) (2010-11 est.) |
| Languages | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka |
| Religions | Muslim 95.4% (most adhere to one of the four main Sufi brotherhoods), Christian 4.2% (mostly Roman Catholic), animist 0.4% (2010-11 est.) |
| Demographic profile | Senegal has a large and growing youth population but has not been successful in developing its potential human capital. Senegal’s high total fertility rate of almost 4.5 children per woman continues to bolster the country’s large youth cohort – more than 60% of the population is under the age of 25. Fertility remains high because of the continued desire for large families, the low use of family planning, and early childbearing. Because of the country’s high illiteracy rate (more than 40%), high unemployment (even among university graduates), and widespread poverty, Senegalese youths face dim prospects; women are especially disadvantaged. Senegal historically was a destination country for economic migrants, but in recent years West African migrants more often use Senegal as a transit point to North Africa – and sometimes illegally onward to Europe. The country also has been host to several thousand black Mauritanian refugees since they were expelled from their homeland during its 1989 border conflict with Senegal. The country’s economic crisis in the 1970s stimulated emigration; departures accelerated in the 1990s. Destinations shifted from neighboring countries, which were experiencing economic decline, civil wars, and increasing xenophobia, to Libya and Mauritania because of their booming oil industries and to developed countries (most notably former colonial ruler France, as well as Italy and Spain). The latter became attractive in the 1990s because of job opportunities and their periodic regularization programs (legalizing the status of illegal migrants). Additionally, about 16,000 Senegalese refugees still remain in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau as a result of more than 30 years of fighting between government forces and rebel separatists in southern Senegal’s Casamance region. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.85% (male 3,011,233/female 2,981,128) 15-24 years: 20.36% (male 1,452,415/female 1,462,989) 25-54 years: 30.93% (male 2,031,035/female 2,398,788) 55-64 years: 3.91% (male 242,429/female 317,439) 65 years and over: 2.95% (male 189,201/female 233,398) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 87.6% youth dependency ratio: 82.1% elderly dependency ratio: 5.5% potential support ratio: 18.2% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 18.7 years male: 17.8 years female: 19.6 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.42% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 34 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 8.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 43.7% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 3.59% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | DAKAR (capital) 3.52 million (2015) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.85 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.76 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 21.4 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2014 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 315 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 50.3 deaths/1,000 live births male: 56.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 61.7 years male: 59.7 years female: 63.8 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 4.36 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 17.8% (2012/13) |
| Health expenditures | 4.7% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 0.06 physicians/1,000 population (2008) |
| Hospital bed density | 0.3 beds/1,000 population (2008) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 92.9% of population rural: 67.3% of population total: 78.5% of population unimproved: urban: 7.1% of population rural: 32.7% of population total: 21.5% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 65.4% of population rural: 33.8% of population total: 47.6% of population unimproved: urban: 34.6% of population rural: 66.2% of population total: 52.4% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.52% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 45,800 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 2,200 (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis animal contact disease: rabies (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 8.3% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 12.8% (2014) |
| Education expenditures | 7.2% of GDP (2014) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.7% male: 69.7% female: 46.6% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 8 years male: 8 years female: 8 years (2010) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 657,216 percentage: 22% (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 12.7% male: 8.3% female: 19% (2011 est.) |