Senegal Geography - 2023

Location

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania

Geographic coordinates

14 00 N, 14 00 W

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 196,722 sq km

land: 192,530 sq km

water: 4,192 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than South Dakota; slightly larger than twice the size of Indiana

Land boundaries

total: 2,684 km

border countries (5): The Gambia 749 km; Guinea 363 km; Guinea-Bissau 341 km; Mali 489 km; Mauritania 742 km

Coastline

531 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

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

Elevation

highest point: unnamed elevation 2.8 km southeast of Nepen Diaka 648 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 69 m

Natural resources

fish, phosphates, iron ore

Land use

agricultural land: 46.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 17.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 29.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 43.8% (2018 est.)

other: 9.4% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

1,200 sq km (2012)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Senegal (shared with Guinea [s], Mali, and Mauritania [m] ) - 1,641 km; 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

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Senegal (456,397 sq km)

Major aquifers

Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin

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

Natural hazards

lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts

Geography - note

westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal