| Chapter 2: | Linguistic and Demographic Profile of Senegal |
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and financial influence in Senegal are known to be close to the current French president, Nicolas Sarkozy (Algalarrondo, 2008).
The Senegalese economy is largely based on agriculture—peanuts, cotton, rice, and sugar cane—which constituted about 30% of the GDP in 2001 (Direction de la Prévision et des Statistiques, 2003, p. 73). The industrial sector, which is essentially based on the phosphate industry, accounted for 18% of the GDP in 1988. Fishing made up 8% of the GDP in 2001 (Direction de la Prévision et des Statistiques, 2003, p. 7), and tourism accounted for 6% of the GDP (Direction de la Prévision et des Statistiques, 2003, pp. 73–80). In 2006, the public debt of Senegal was the equivalent of US$2 billion—that is, a debt rate of 18%, compared to 50% in 2005 (Direction de la Prévision et des Études Économiques, 2007, p. 13).
One of the World's Poorest Countries
Despite its economic potential and its receipt of extensive international aid, assistance from various countries and agencies, and foreign and local investments, Senegal remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Not only is Senegal listed on the Human Development Index (HDI) among the least advanced countries in the world, but it is also ranked 156th out of 177 countries documented in the HDI—a distinction which automatically places Senegal among the countries with the lowest level of human development (Human Development Report, 2007/2008, p. 231). The HDI is calculated using an aggregate scale that combines such criteria as life expectancy; adult literacy rates; enrolment levels in primary-, secondary-, and tertiary-level education; and per capita GDP.
Senegal performs poorly in each of these areas. For example, the life expectancy in Senegal was 52.3 years in 2002 (World Development Indicators Database, 2005), 55.7 years in 2003 (Human Development Report, 2005, p. 221), and 62.3 years in 2007–2008. In contrast, Norway (which ranked first in the 2005 HDI) had a life expectancy as high as 79.4 years in 2004 (Human Development Report, 2005, p. 219), and Iceland (which ranked first in the 2007/2008 HDI) had a life expectancy of 81.5 years in 2006 (Human Development Report, 2007/2008, p. 229).