World Factbook
Senegal
République du Sénégal
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
192,530 sq km
water
4,192 sq km
total
196,722 sq km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind
Terrain
generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast
Land use
other
5.5% (2023 est.)
forest
45.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
49.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 19.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 29.1% (2023 est.)
Location
Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania
Coastline
531 km
Elevation
lowest point
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point
unnamed elevation 2.8 km southeast of Nepen Diaka 648 m
mean elevation
69 m
Irrigated land
1,200 sq km (2012)
Major aquifers
Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin
Map references
Africa
Land boundaries
total
2,684 km
border countries
The Gambia 749 km; Guinea 363 km; Guinea-Bissau 341 km; Mali 489 km; Mauritania 742 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts
Geography - note
westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal
Natural resources
fish, phosphates, iron ore
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than South Dakota; slightly larger than twice the size of Indiana
Geographic coordinates
14 00 N, 14 00 W
Population distribution
the population is concentrated in the west, with Dakar anchoring a well-defined core area; approximately 70% of the population is rural, as shown in this population distribution map
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Senegal (456,397 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Senegal (shared with Guinea [s], Mali, and Mauritania [m] ) - 1,641 km; Gambie (Gambia) (shared with Guinea [s] and The Gambia [m]) - 1,094 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth