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 5% annually during 1995-2003. 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. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, trade union militancy, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. |
| GDP: | purchasing power parity - $17.09 billion (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 5.5% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 16.8%
industry: 27.2%
services: 56% (2004 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | 21.3% of GDP (2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 54% (2001 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1995) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 41.3 (1995) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 0% (2004 est.) |
| Labor force: | 4.62 million NA (2004 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 70% |
| Unemployment rate: | 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $1.304 billion
expenditures: $1.367 billion, including capital expenditures of $357 million (2004 est.) |
| Public debt: | 54.2% of GDP (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish |
| Industries: | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 2.9% (2004 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 1.518 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 1.412 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2001) |
| Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 31,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | NA (2001) |
| Oil - imports: | NA (2001) |
| Natural gas - production: | 50 million cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 50 million cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.) |
| Current account balance: | $-389 million (2004 est.) |
| Exports: | $1.23 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
| Exports - partners: | India 13%, France 12.2%, Mali 9.5%, Italy 8.5%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.4%, Spain 5% (2003) |
| Imports: | $1.753 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | foods and beverages, capital goods, fuels |
| Imports - partners: | France 24.9%, Nigeria 12.2%, Thailand 6.7%, Spain 4.3% (2003) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: | $780 million (2004 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $3.009 billion (2004 est.) |
| Economic aid - recipient: | $362.6 million (2002 est.) |
| Currency: | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
| Currency code: | XOF |
| Exchange rates: | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year
Source: CIA World Factbook
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