Economy of Senegal
| 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 over 5% annually during 1995-2006. 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 and a more stable monetary policy. High unemployment, however, continues to prompt illegal migrants to flee Senegal in search of better job opportunities in Europe. Senegal was also beset by an energy crisis that caused widespread blackouts in 2006. Senegal still relies heavily upon outside donor assistance. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal will benefit from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and private-sector debt. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | $21.54 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | $8.331 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 2% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | $1,800 (2006 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 18.3% industry: 19.2% services: 62.5% (2006 est.) |
| Labor force: | 4.749 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 77% industry and services: 23% (1990 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 48%; note - urban youth 40% (2001 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): | 2% (2006 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | 41% of GDP (2006 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $2.023 billion expenditures: $2.377 billion; including capital expenditures of $357 million (2006 est.) |
| Public debt: | 17.8% of GDP (2006 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, ship construction and repair |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 3.2% (2006 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 1.453 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 1.351 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil - consumption: | 31,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | NA bbl/day |
| Oil - imports: | NA bbl/day |
| Oil - proved reserves: | 0 bbl |
| Natural gas - production: | 50 million cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 50 million cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$895.2 million (2006 est.) |
| Exports: | $1.478 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
| Exports - partners: | Mali 18.5%, India 14.3%, France 6.9%, Italy 5.1%, Gambia, The 5% (2006) |
| Imports: | $2.98 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | food and beverages, capital goods, fuels |
| Imports - partners: | France 21.3%, Nigeria 10.6%, UK 8.9%, Netherlands 4.9%, China 4.8%, Brazil 4.1% (2006) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $1.18 billion (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $1.628 billion (2006 est.) |
| Economic aid - recipient: | $449.6 million (2003 est.) |
| Currency (code): | 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 - 522.89 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |