Demographics of Senegal
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Senegal, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
About 70% of Senegal's population is rural. In rural areas, density varies from about 77 per square kilometer (200/mile²) in the west-central region to 2 per square kilometer (5/mile²) in the arid eastern section. About 50,000 Europeans (mostly French) and Lebanese and Vietnamese reside in Senegal, mainly in the cities. French is the official language but is used regularly only by the literate minority. Almost all Senegalese speak an indigenous language, of which Wolof has the largest usage. A lot of Senegalese live in Europe , particularly in France, Italy and Spain.
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
Population
- 9,987,494 (July 2000 est.)
- 11,987,121 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
- 45% (male 2,237,678; female 2,213,632)
- 40.8% (male 2,467,021/female 2,422,385)
15-64 years
- 52% (male 2,501,649; female 2,729,412)
- 56.1% (male 3,346,756/female 3,378,518)
65 years and over
- 3% (male 152,236; female 152,887) (2000 est.)
- 3.1% (male 174,399/female 198,042) (2006 est.)
Population growth rate
- 2.34% (2006 est.)
Birth rate
4.2 births ?10000
- 32.78 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate
4 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) ???deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Gender ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 year
0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over
1 male(s)/females
total population
0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate
- 58.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
- 52.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
Total population
- 62.19 years (2000 est.)
- 59.25 years (2006 est.)
Male
- 60.6 years (2000 est.)
- 57.7 years (2006 est.)
Female
- 63.82 years (2000 est.)
- 60.85 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate
- 5.21 children born/woman (2000 est.)
- 4.38 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Nationality
noun:
Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Senegalese
Ethnic groups
Wolof 43.3%, Fula 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European, Lebanese and Vietnamese 1%, other 9.4%
Religions
Islam is the predominant religion, practiced by approximately 95 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 1% population who maintain animism in their beliefs, particularly in the southeastern region of the country.
Languages
French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Serer, Jola, Mandinka
Total population: 33.1%
Male: 43%
Female: 23.2% (1995 est.)