Senegal

The land of Senegal was part of great medieval West African empires and home to states such as the Jolof. From the fifteenth century European traders arrived on the coast, and the island of Goree off Dakar became a notorious point in the Atlantic slave trade. France made Senegal the heart of its West African empire, and Dakar its capital. Independence came in 1960 under the poet and philosopher Leopold Sedar Senghor, a champion of African culture, and the country has maintained democratic civilian rule ever since.

Senegal is mostly low-lying and flat, a land of dry savanna and sandy plains on the southern edge of the Sahara, growing greener toward the south. Several rivers, including the Senegal River that gives the country its name and forms its northern border, cross the land. The coast on the Atlantic is important for fishing, and the small country of The Gambia forms a narrow enclave reaching deep into Senegal along its own river.

The flag of Senegal has three vertical bands of green, yellow, and red, with a green five-pointed star in the centre. These are the pan-African colours, shared with many countries of the continent, here often interpreted as green for hope and the faith, yellow for wealth and progress, and red for sacrifice and determination. The central green star stands for unity and the openness of the nation to the world.

Senegal is overwhelmingly Muslim, and Islam is central to its culture and daily life, but it is distinctive for the strength of its Sufi brotherhoods, which organise much of religious and social life and are led by revered spiritual guides. The great pilgrimage centres of these brotherhoods draw enormous gatherings. A small Christian minority lives peacefully alongside the Muslim majority, and Senegal is widely admired for its tradition of religious tolerance and coexistence.

Senegalese cuisine is among the most celebrated in West Africa. Its national dish is thieboudienne, a one-pot meal of fish, rice, and vegetables in a rich tomato sauce, regarded as a masterpiece of the region's cooking. Other favourites include yassa, meat or fish marinated with onions and lemon, and mafe, a hearty peanut stew. Strong, sweet tea poured in ceremonial rounds, known as ataya, is central to a culture famous for its hospitality.

Agriculture employs much of Senegal's population despite the dry climate of much of the country. The signature crop is the peanut, or groundnut, grown across a central region long known as the peanut basin and historically the mainstay of the economy. Millet and sorghum are important food staples suited to the arid land, and rice is grown in the wetter south. The Atlantic fisheries are vital too, providing food and a major export.

Senegal's role in medieval West African trade, and the painful history of Goree and the slave trade, are central to its story. As the capital of French West Africa, Dakar held a special place in the colonial empire. Independence in 1960 brought to power Leopold Senghor, a renowned poet and a leading voice of the cultural movement known as negritude, which celebrated African identity. Since then, in a region of frequent upheaval, Senegal has remained a notably stable democracy.

Senegal has a population of around 18 million people, made up of several ethnic groups, the largest being the Wolof, whose language serves as a common tongue alongside the official French. The population is young and increasingly urban, concentrated in the west and above all in the lively capital, Dakar, perched on a peninsula at the tip of the continent. Senegalese culture, from its music, especially the rhythmic style called mbalax, to its wrestling, is influential across the region.