Introduction to Senegal

officially Republic of Senegal, French République du Sénégalwesternmost republic of the bulge of western Africa, covering an

area of 75,955 square miles (196,722 square km). The capital is Dakar. Facing the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Senegal is bounded on

the north and northeast by the Sénégal River, which separates it from Mauritania; on the east by the Falémé River, separating it from

Mali; and on the south by Guinea-Bissau and Guinea. The Gambia forms an enclave along the Gambia River in the southwest. The

population in 1990 was estimated at 7,618,000.