Editing Senegal (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Senegal}}
[[File:Senegal population.svg|thumb|upright=2.05|Senegal's population from 1960 to 2017 (in millions)]]

Senegal has a population of around 18 million, about 42 percent of whom live in rural areas. Density in these areas varies from about {{convert|77|PD/km2}} in the west-central region to {{convert|2|/km2}} in the arid eastern section.

=== Women ===
{{Main|Women in Senegal}}
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
Senegal ratified the [[Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women]], adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, as well as the additional protocol. Senegal is also a signatory of the African Charter of Human and People's Rights, which was adopted during the 2003 African Union Summit. However, feminists have been critical of the government's lack of action in enforcing the protocols, conventions and other texts that have been signed as a means of protecting women's rights.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

=== Ethnic groups ===
{{Main|Ethnic groups in Senegal}}

Senegal has a wide variety of [[ethnic group]]s and, as in most West African countries, several languages are widely spoken. According to "[[CIA World Factbook]]:  Senegal" (2019 estimates), the ethnic groups are [[Wolof people|Wolof]] (39%); [[Fula people|Fula]] (probably including the [[Halpulaar]] speaking [[Toucouleur people|Toucouleur]]) (27.5%); [[Serer people|Serer group]] (probably including the [[Cangin languages|Serer Cangin peoples]]) (16%); [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] (4.9%); [[Jola people|Jola]] (4.2%); [[Soninke people|Soninke]] (2.4%); other 5.4% (includes Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent), and other minor ethnic groups like the [[Bassari people|Bassari]], [[Moors|Maures]] or (Naarkajors).<ref>CIA World Factbook: Senegal. [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/senegal/summaries/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930033916/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/senegal/summaries|date=30 September 2023}} (retrieved 15 April 2024):

* "Wolof 39.7%, Pulaar 27.5%, Sereer 16%, Mandinka 4.9%, Jola 4.2%, Soninke 2.4%, other 5.4% (includes Europeans and persons of Lebanese descent) (2019 est.)."</ref>
{{Pie chart
|thumb = left
|caption=Ethnic groups in Senegal
|label1 = [[Wolof people|Wolof]]
|value1 = 39
|color1 = Orange
|label2 = [[Fula people|Fulani]]
|value2 = 27.5
|color2 = Blue
|label3 = [[Serer people|Serer]]
|value3 = 16
|color3 = Red
|label4 = [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]]
|value4 = 4.9
|color4 = Brown
|label5 = [[Jola people|Jola]]
|value5= 4.2
|color5 = Purple
|label6 = [[Soninke people|Sonike]]
|value6 = 2.4
|color6 = Green
|label7 = Other
|value7 = 6
|color = Light Blue
}}

There are also tens of thousands of Mauritanian refugees in Senegal, primarily in the country's north.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/492d41584.html|periodical=UNHCR News|title=Boost for the reintegration of Mauritanian returnees|date=26 November 2008|access-date=12 January 2010|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630152303/http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/492d41584.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the ''World Refugee Survey 2008'', published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Senegal has a population of [[refugees]] and asylum seekers numbering approximately 23,800 in 2007. The majority of this population (20,200) is from Mauritania. Refugees live in N'dioum, Dodel, and small settlements along the [[Senegal River]] valley.<ref name="World Refugee Survey 2008">{{cite news|title=World Refugee Survey 2008 |publisher=U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants |date=19 June 2008 |url=http://www.refugees.org/survey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528032724/http://www.refugees.org/survey/ |archive-date=28 May 2010 }}</ref>

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Languages of Senegal}}

French is the [[official language]], spoken by all those who have spent several years in the educational system, in which French is used as the medium of instruction (Koranic schools are also popular, but Arabic is less widely spoken outside of the context of recitation). Overall, speakers of French were estimated to make up 26% of the population in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.francophonie.org/|title=Portail de l'Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)|website=Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie|access-date=18 February 2023|archive-date=1 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601233227/http://www.francophonie.org/-Etats-et-gouvernements-.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During the 15th century, many European territories started to engage in trade in Senegal. In the 19th century, France increased its colonial influence in Senegal and thus the number of French-speaking people multiplied continuously. French was ratified as the official language of Senegal in 1960 when the country achieved independence.

Most people also speak their own ethnic language while, especially in Dakar, [[Wolof language|Wolof]] is the [[lingua franca]].<ref>{{citation|title=Wolof|author=National African Language Research Center|publisher=University of Wisconsin |location=Madison}}</ref> [[Pulaar]] is spoken by the Fulas and Toucouleur. The [[Serer language]] is widely spoken by both Serers and non-Serers (including President Sall, whose wife is Serer); so are the [[Cangin languages]], whose speakers are ethnically Serers. [[Jola languages]] are widely spoken in the [[Casamance]]. Overall Senegal is home to around 39 distinct languages. Several have the legal status of "[[national language]]s": [[Balanta-Ganja language|Balanta-Ganja]], [[Arabic]], [[Jola-Fonyi language|Jola-Fonyi]], [[Mandinka language|Mandinka]], [[Mandjak language|Mandjak]], [[Mankanya language|Mankanya]], [[Noon language|Noon]] (Serer-Noon), [[Pulaar language|Pulaar]], Serer, [[Soninke language|Soninke]], and Wolof.

English is taught as a [[English as a second or foreign language|foreign language]] in secondary schools and many graduate school programs, and it is the only subject matter that has a special office in the Ministry of Education.<ref name=warwick>{{citation|website=The Warwick ELT|title=The Status of English and Other Languages in Senegal|author=Oumar Moussa Djigo|date=31 December 2016|url=https://thewarwickeltezine.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/77/|access-date=10 August 2019|archive-date=10 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810155205/https://thewarwickeltezine.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/77/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dakar is home to a few bilingual schools which offer half of their curriculum in English. The Senegalese American Bilingual School (SABS), Yavuz Selim, and The West African College of the Atlantic (WACA) train thousands of fluent English speakers in four-year programs. English is widely used by the scientific community and in business, including by the ''Modou-Modou'' (illiterate, self-taught businessmen).<ref name=warwick />

[[Portuguese Creole]], locally known as Portuguese, is a prominent minority language in [[Ziguinchor]], regional capital of the Casamance, spoken by local Portuguese creoles and immigrants from Guinea-Bissau. The local Cape Verdean community speak a similar Portuguese creole, [[Cape Verdean Creole]], and standard Portuguese. Portuguese was introduced in Senegal's secondary education in 1961 in Dakar by the country's first president, [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]]. It is currently available in most of Senegal and in higher education. It is especially prevalent in Casamance as it relates with the local cultural identity.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/encarte/encarte98a.htm | title=A Língua Portuguesa no Senegal | date=12–25 April 2006 | access-date=10 December 2014 | author=José Horta | publisher=Instituto Camões | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000233/http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/encarte/encarte98a.htm | archive-date=4 March 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>
[[File:Dakar Roofs - Beach & Ocean (5651584098).jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Yoff Commune, Dakar]]

A variety of immigrant languages are spoken, such as [[Bambara language|Bambara]] (70,000), [[Mossi language|Mooré]] (37,000), [[Cape Verdean Creole|Kabuverdiano]] (34,000), [[Krio language|Krio]] (6,100), Vietnamese (2,500), and Portuguese (1,700), mostly in Dakar.<ref name=warwick />

While French is the sole official language, a rising Senegalese linguistic nationalist movement supports the integration of Wolof, the common vernacular language of the country, into the national constitution.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.slateafrique.com/21377/linguistique-senegal-est-il-encore-un-pays-francophone | title=Le Sénégal est-il encore un pays francophone? | date=19 August 2012 | access-date=19 August 2012 | author=Pierre Cherruau | archive-date=14 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114083002/http://www.slateafrique.com/21377/linguistique-senegal-est-il-encore-un-pays-francophone | url-status=live }}</ref>

Senegalese regions of Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaffrine, Kaolack, Kedougou, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Sedhiou, Tambacounda, Thies and Ziguinchor are members of the International Association of Francophone regions.

=== Largest cities ===
{{See also|List of cities in Senegal}}
Dakar, the capital, is by far the largest city in Senegal, with over two million residents.<ref name="ANSD-population">{{cite web
| url = http://www.ansd.org/SES2005.pdf
| title = Situation économique et sociale du Sénégal
| author=Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie
| publisher=Government of Senegal
| language = fr
| year = 2005
| access-date =18 November 2008
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080625002308/http://www.ansd.org/SES2005.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 25 June 2008}}</ref> The second most populous city is [[Touba, Senegal|Touba]], a ''[[de jure]] communaute rurale'' (rural community), with over half a million people.<ref name="ANSD-population"/>
{{Largest cities
| country      = Senegal
| stat_ref     = According to the 2013 Census<ref>{{Cite web |title=Senegal |work=City Population |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/senegal/cities/ |access-date=9 December 2021 |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426085236/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/senegal/cities/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| div_name     = Region

| city_1 = Dakar
| div_1 = Dakar Region{{!}}Dakar
| pop_1 = 2,646,503
| img_1 = Dakar - Panorama urbain.jpg

| city_2 = Touba
| div_2 = Diourbel Region{{!}}Diourbel
| pop_2 = 753,315
| img_2 =

| city_3 = Pikine
| div_3 = Dakar Region{{!}}Dakar
| pop_3 = 317,763
| img_3 = Pikine.gif

| city_4 = Kaolack
| div_4 = Kaolack Region{{!}}Kaolack
| pop_4 = 233,708
| img_4 = MedinaBaayMosque.jpg

| city_5 = M'Bour{{!}}M'bour
| div_5 = Thiès Region{{!}}Thiès
| pop_5 = 232,777

| city_6 = Rufisque
| div_6 = Dakar Region{{!}}Dakar
| pop_6 = 221,066

| city_7 = Ziguinchor
| div_7 = Ziguinchor Region{{!}}Ziguinchor
| pop_7 = 205,294

| city_8 = Diourbel
| div_8 = Diourbel Region{{!}}Diourbel
| pop_8 = 133,705

| city_9 = Tambacounda
| div_9 = Tambacounda Region{{!}}Tambacounda
| pop_9 = 107,293

| city_10 = Louga
| div_10 = Louga Region{{!}}Louga
| pop_10 = 104,349

}}

=== Religion ===
{{main|Religion in Senegal}}

{{Pie chart
|thumb = left
|caption = Religion in Senegal (2022, estimate)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/senegal/ | title=Senegal | access-date=29 January 2024 | archive-date=29 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129215348/https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/senegal/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
|label1 = [[Islam]]
|value1 = 97.2
|color1 = Green
|label2 = Christianity
|value2 = 2.7
|color2 = DodgerBlue
|label3= Other
|color3= Orange
|value3= 0.1
}}

Senegal is a secular state.<ref name="Constitution of Senegal" /> According to "CIA World Factbook: Senegal" [[Islam in Senegal|Islam]] is the predominant religion in the country, practiced by 97.2% of the country's population; the Christian community, at 2.7% of the population, consists mostly of  [[Roman Catholic]]s but there are also diverse [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] denominations. Less than one percent has [[animism|animist]] beliefs, particularly in the southeastern region of the country.<ref name=cia/> Some [[Serer people]] follow the [[Serer religion]].<ref>Conklin, Alice L. ''A Mission to Civilize: The Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa, 1895–1930''. Stanford University Press, 1997. {{ISBN|0-8047-2999-9}}. p. 27.</ref><ref>Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International</ref> According to the Berkley Center,  "approximately 95 percent of the population is Muslim and the other five percent is primarily Christian or animist."<ref>Berkley Center, "Country Mapping: Senegal." [https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/subprojects/country-mapping-senegal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231163333/https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/subprojects/country-mapping-senegal|date=31 December 2023}} (retrieved 15 April 2024)</ref> Marloes Janson, of SOAS, University of London, and other scholars, posit that, in Senegal, [[Gambia]], and many African countries where Islam is dominant, Muslim communities tend to [[Syncretism|syncretise]] Islam with [[Traditional African religions]], leading to a distinctive "African Islam".<ref>Johnson, Marloes, "Chapter 36: Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa." SOAS, University of London (2017), pp. 15-17 (PDF)</ref>

According to a 2012 Pew demographic study, 55% of the Muslims in Senegal are [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] of the [[Maliki]] [[madhhab]] with [[Sufi]] influences, whilst 27% are [[non-denominational Muslim]]s.<ref name="Pew">{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/#identity|title=Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation|date=9 August 2012|work=The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]'s Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=4 September 2013|archive-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226113158/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/08/09/the-worlds-muslims-unity-and-diversity-1-religious-affiliation/#identity|url-status=live}}</ref> Islamic communities in Senegal are generally organized around one of several Islamic Sufi orders called [[tariqa]]s, headed by a ''[[khalif]]'' (''xaliifa'' in [[Wolof language|Wolof]], from Arabic ''khalīfa''), who is usually a direct descendant of the group's founder; the study found that 92% of Senegalese Muslims belonged to a Sufi order. The two largest and most prominent Sufi tariqas in Senegal are the [[Tijaniyya]], whose largest Senegalese sub-groups are based in the cities of [[Tivaouane]] and [[Kaolack]] and has broad following in West Africa outside of Senegal, and the [[Mouride|Murīdiyya (Murid)]], who are based in the city of [[Touba, Senegal|Touba]] and has a follower base mostly limited to within Senegal.<ref name="Pew"/>
[[File:Saintlouis mosquée.jpg|thumb|A mosque in [[Saint-Louis, Senegal|Saint-Louis]].|left]]
[[File:Dakar cathedrale.jpg|thumb|[[Our Lady of Victories Cathedral, Dakar|Our Lady of Victories Cathedral]], a [[Catholic Church]] in [[Dakar]]]]
The [[Halpulaar]] ([[Pulaar]]-speakers), composed of [[Fula people]], a widespread group found along the Sahel from Chad to Senegal, and ''[[Toucouleur people|Toucouleurs]]'', represent 23.8 percent of the population.<ref name=cia/> Historically, they were the first to become Muslim. Many of the ''Toucouleurs'', or sedentary Halpulaar of the Senegal River Valley in the north, converted to Islam around a millennium ago and later contributed to Islam's propagation throughout Senegal. Success was gained among the Wolofs, but repulsed by the Serers.
Most communities south of the Senegal River Valley, however, were not thoroughly [[Islamization|Islamized]]. The Serer people stood out as one of this group, who spent over one thousand years resisting Islamization (see [[Serer history (medieval era to present)|Serer history]]). Although many Serers are Christians or Muslim, their conversion to Islam in particular is very recent and came of free will rather than by force, after forced conversion had been unsuccessfully tried centuries earlier (see [[Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune]]).<ref>{{cite book|author1=Hans Bressers|author2=Walter A. Rosenbaum|title=Achieving Sustainable Development: The Challenge of Governance Across Social Scales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SvAGAeQNo7oC&pg=PA151|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-97802-0|pages=151–}}</ref>

As a country with more than 90% Muslims, holidays such as Tabaski, Koriteh, Gamou, Weri Kor are highly regarded.

The spread of formal Quranic school (called ''daara'' in Wolof) during the colonial period increased largely through the effort of the Tidjâniyya. In Murid communities, which place more emphasis on the work ethic than on literary Quranic studies, the term ''daara'' often applies to work groups devoted to working for a religious leader. Other Islamic groups include the much older Qādiriyya order and the Senegalese [[Layene|Laayeen]] order, which is prominent among the coastal Lebu. Today, most Senegalese children study at ''daara''s for several years, memorizing as much of the Qur'an as they can. Some of them continue their religious studies at councils (''majlis'') or at the growing number of private Arabic schools and publicly funded Franco-Arabic schools.

Small Catholic communities are mainly found in coastal Serer, [[Jola people|Jola]], [[Mankanya people|Mankanya]] and Balant populations, and in eastern Senegal among the Bassari and Coniagui. The Protestant churches are mainly attended by immigrants but during the second half of the 20th century Protestant churches led by Senegalese leaders from different ethnic groups have evolved. In Dakar Catholic and Protestant rites are practiced by the Lebanese, Cape Verdean, European, and American immigrant populations, and among certain Africans of other countries as well as by the Senegalese themselves. Although Islam is Senegal's majority religion, Senegal's first president, [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]], was a Catholic Serer.

[[Serer religion]] encompasses a belief in a supreme deity called [[Roog]] ([[Koox]] among the [[Cangin languages|Cangin]]), [[Serer creation myth|Serer cosmogony]], [[Religious cosmology|cosmology]] and [[divination]] ceremonies such as the annual ''[[Xooy]]'' (or ''Khoy'') ceremony presided over by the Serer [[Saltigue]]s (high priests and priestesses). They were ancient Serer festivals rooted in Serer religion, not Islam.<ref name="N.Diouf">Diouf, Niokhobaye, « Chronique du royaume du Sine, suivie de Notes sur les traditions orales et les sources écrites concernant le [[Kingdom of Sine|royaume du Sine]] par Charles Becker et Victor Martin (1972)», . (1972). Bulletin de l'IFAN, tome 34, série B, no 4, 1972, pp. 706–7 (pp. 4–5), pp. 713–14 (pp. 9–10)</ref>

The [[Boukout]] is one of the Jola's religious ceremonies.

There are a small number of members of the Bani Israel tribe in the Senegalese bush that claim Jewish ancestry, though this is disputed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2013/05/23/lifestyle/in-senegalese-bush-bani-israel-tribe-claims-jewish-heritage|title=In Senegalese bush, Bani Israel tribe claims Jewish heritage|date=23 May 2013|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|language=en-US|access-date=15 July 2019|archive-date=15 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715174843/https://www.jta.org/2013/05/23/lifestyle/in-senegalese-bush-bani-israel-tribe-claims-jewish-heritage|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Mahayana]] branch of [[Buddhism in Senegal]] is followed by a very tiny portion of the [[Expatriate|expat]] [[Overseas Vietnamese|Vietnamese community]]. The [[Bahá'í Faith in Senegal]] was established after [['Abdu'l-Bahá]], the son of the founder of the religion, mentioned Africa as a place that should be more broadly visited by Bahá'ís.<ref name="ToDP8">{{cite book |author = 'Abdu'l-Bahá |author-link = Abdu'l-Bahá |year = 1991 |title = Tablets of the Divine Plan |edition = Paperback |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location = Wilmette, IL |isbn = 0-87743-233-3 |url = http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TDP/tdp-8.html.iso8859-1 |pages = 47–59 |orig-year = 1916–17 |access-date = 1 August 2009 |archive-date = 11 May 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110511200654/http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TDP/tdp-8.html.iso8859-1 |url-status = live }}</ref> The first Bahá'is to set foot in the territory of [[French West Africa]] that would become Senegal arrived in 1953.<ref name="hassal-egypt">{{cite web|last = Hassall|first = Graham|title = Egypt: Baha'i history|work = Asia Pacific Bahá'í Studies: Bahá'í Communities by country|publisher = Bahá'í Online Library|date = c. 2000|url = http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/country%20files/egypt.htm|access-date = 24 May 2009|archive-date = 27 December 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111227051203/http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/country%20files/egypt.htm|url-status = live}}</ref> The first Bahá'í [[Local Spiritual Assembly]] of Senegal was elected in 1966 in [[Dakar]].<ref name="50th">{{Cite news|last = Bahá'í International Community|author-link = Bahá'í International Community|title = National communities celebrate together|newspaper = Bahá'í International News Service|date = 28 December 2003|url = http://hfa01.news.bahai.org/story/283|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130112122749/http://hfa01.news.bahai.org/story/283|archive-date = 12 January 2013|df = dmy-all}}</ref> In 1975 the Bahá'í community elected the first [[National Spiritual Assembly]] of Senegal. The most recent estimate, by the [[Association of Religion Data Archives]] in a 2005 report details the population of Senegalese Bahá'ís at 22,000.<ref name="WCE-05">{{cite web|title=Most Baha'i Nations (2005)|work=QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions >|publisher=The Association of Religion Data Archives|year=2005|url=http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp|access-date=4 July 2009|archive-date=14 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414021730/http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Health ===
{{Main|Health in Senegal}}
[[File:Life expectancy in Senegal.svg|thumb|Development of life expectancy]]
Life expectancy at birth was estimated to be 66.8 years in 2016 (64.7 years male, 68.7 years female).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aho.afro.who.int/profiles_information/images/e/e3/Senegal-Statistical_Factsheet.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903204256/http://www.aho.afro.who.int/profiles_information/images/e/e3/Senegal-Statistical_Factsheet.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 September 2014|title=Senegal Statistical Factsheet|website=Factsheet of Health Statistics 2018}}</ref> Public expenditure on health was at 2.4 percent of the GDP in 2004, whereas private expenditure was at 3.5 percent.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org">{{cite web |url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SEN.html |title=Human Development Report 2009&nbsp;– Senegal |publisher=Hdrstats.undp.org |access-date=20 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715090901/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SEN.html |archive-date=15 July 2010}}</ref> Health expenditure was at US$72 (PPP) per capita in 2004.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/> The fertility rate ranged 5 to 5.3 between 2005 and 2013, with 4.1 in urban areas and 6.3 in rural areas, as official survey (6.4 in 1986 and 5.7 in 1997) point out.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ansd.sn/publications/rapports_enquetes_etudes/enquetes/EDS-continue_2012-2013.pdf |title=Enquête Démographique et de Santé Continue (EDS-Continue) 2012–2013 |date=July 2013 |language=fr |publisher=Republic of Senegal |access-date=27 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113162733/http://www.ansd.sn/publications/rapports_enquetes_etudes/enquetes/EDS-continue_2012-2013.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2013}}</ref> There were six physicians per 100,000 persons in the early 2000s (decade).<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/> [[Infant mortality]] in Senegal was 157 per 1,000 live births in 1950., but since then it has declined five-fold to 32 per 1,000 in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://childmortality.org/data/Senegal |title=Infant mortality rate in Senegal |publisher=UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation |access-date=27 June 2021 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In the past five years infant mortality rates of malaria have dropped. According to a 2013 UNICEF report,<ref name=UNICEF2013p27>[http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf UNICEF 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405083031/http://www.unicef.org/media/files/FGCM_Lo_res.pdf |date=5 April 2015 }}, p. 27.</ref> 26% of women in Senegal have undergone [[female genital mutilation]].

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began in Senegal, which led to the imposition of a curfew in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Africa: SA in lockdown, curfews in the west as continent braces for Covid-19 wave|url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20200324-lockdown-curfew-restrictions-africa-coronavirus-covid-19|publisher=Radio France Internationale|date=24 March 2020|access-date=23 November 2021|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123195213/https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20200324-lockdown-curfew-restrictions-africa-coronavirus-covid-19|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2021, Senegal experienced a significant increase in cases of coronavirus disease.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Senegal seeing significant rise in Delta variant cases|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/senegal-seeing-significant-rise-in-delta-variant-cases/2306111|website=ANADOLU AGENCY|access-date=23 November 2021|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123195507/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/senegal-seeing-significant-rise-in-delta-variant-cases/2306111|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2021, Senegal's Agency for Universal Health launched sunucmu.com (SunuCMU), a website that the agency hopes will streamline health care in the country. The website is a part of the Minister of State Mohammad Abdallah Dionne's plan for digitalization. He aims to make Senegal's health care system effective and sustainable. Using SunuCMU, Senegal hopes to achieve 75 percent coverage within two years of the launch.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-06-28|title=A New Platform to Improve Health Care in Senegal|url=https://www.borgenmagazine.com/health-care-in-senegal/|access-date=2021-07-06|website=BORGEN|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Education ===
{{main|Education in Senegal}}
[[File:Senegal students.jpg|thumb|Students in Senegal]]
Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution adopted in January 2001 guarantee access to education for all children.<ref name=ilab>"Senegal". [http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2005/tda2005.pdf ''2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor'']. [[Bureau of International Labor Affairs]], [[U.S. Department of Labor]] (2006). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]]''. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109071239/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2005/tda2005.pdf |date=9 January 2014 }}</ref> Education is compulsory and free up to the age of 16.<ref name=ilab/> The Ministry of Labor has indicated that the public school system is unable to cope with the number of children that must enroll each year.<ref name=ilab/> Portuguese is taught at schools at the secondary high school level, given the large Cape Verdean community, and also from Guinea Bissau. There are sizeable Portuguese creole and standard Portuguese speaking communities in Zinguichor and Dakar.

[[Literacy|Illiteracy]] is high, particularly among women.<ref name="hdrstats.undp.org"/> The net primary enrollment rate was 69 percent in 2005. In the fiscal year 2025, 3.5 percent of the budget was allocated for the Ministry of Education.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Diouf |first=Abdou |title=LE BUDGET 2025 : UN TOURNANT DECISIF
DANS LA GESTION DES POLITIQUES
PUBLIQUES AU SENEGAL |url=https://www.presidence.sn/fr/assets/documents/Communication-LFI-2025-MFB-DGB-CAMP-2025.pdf |website=Présidence du Sénégal}}</ref> Public expenditure on education was 5.4 percent of the 2002–2005 GDP. Senegal was ranked 92nd in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite book |author=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}</ref>