| Economy - overview | In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which was linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging over 5% annually during 1995-2006. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff and a more stable monetary policy. High unemployment, however, continues to prompt illegal migrants to flee Senegal in search of better job opportunities in Europe. Senegal was also beset by an energy crisis that caused widespread blackouts in 2006. Senegal still relies heavily upon outside donor assistance. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal will benefit from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and private-sector debt. |
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| GDP | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2006 est.) |
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| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 18.3%
industry: 19.2%
services: 62.5% (2006 est.) |
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| Population below poverty line | 54% (2001 est.) |
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Household income or consumption
by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1995) |
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Distribution of family income
- Gini index | 41.3 (1995) |
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| Labor force | 4.749 million (2006 est.) |
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| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 77%
industry and services: 23% (1990 est.) |
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| Unemployment rate | 48%; note - urban youth 40% (2001 est.) |
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| Budget | revenues: $2.023 billion
expenditures: $2.377 billion; including capital expenditures of $357 million (2006 est.) |
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| Industries | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, ship construction and repair |
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| Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (2006 est.) |
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Electricity -
production | 1.453 billion kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
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Electricity -
consumption | 1.351 billion kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
exports | 0 kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
imports | 0 kWh (2004) |
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| Oil - production | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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| Oil - consumption | 31,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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| Oil - exports | NA bbl/day |
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| Oil - imports | NA bbl/day |
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| Agriculture - products | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish |
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| Exports | $1.478 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Exports - commodities | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
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| Exports - partners | Mali 16.9%, India 13.1%, France 9.5%, Spain 6.1%, Italy 5.5%, Gambia, The 4.6% (2005) |
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| Imports | $2.98 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Imports - commodities | food and beverages, capital goods, fuels |
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| Imports - partners | France 22.8%, Nigeria 11.4%, Brazil 4.5%, Thailand 4.3%, US 4.2%, UK 4% (2005) |
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| Debt - external | $1.628 billion (2006 est.) |
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| Economic aid - recipient | $449.6 million (2003 est.) |
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| Currency code | XOF |
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| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) |
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| Fiscal year | calendar year |
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