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After registering a decade of strong growth, the Senegalese economy was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It remained resilient though, avoiding recession and continuing to expand at an estimated 1.5% (IMF). Recovery started mid-2020, driven by industrial production and the services sector, and GDP growth rebounded to 4.7% in 2021 (IMF). Economic growth is expected to accelerate in 2022 (5.5%) and 2023 (10.8%), boosted by construction, gold mining and oil and gas production (IMF). However, new Covid-19 outbreaks, regional security issues and fiscal pressures are downside risks.
The Senegalese economy started a robust recovery in 2021, supported by exceptional spending aiming to contain the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Measures were also taken to strengthen social protection and the health sector including domestic vaccine production, and energy subsidies were increased. As a result, fiscal deficit soared from 3.8% GDP in 2019 to 6.3% GDP in 2020 and 2021. With the implementation of key structural reforms and fiscal consolidation, it is expected to reduce to 4% GDP in 2022 and to stabilize at around 3% GDP by 2024, in line with WAEMU commitments (IMF). Public debt continued its ascending trend, reaching an estimated 71.9% GDP in 2021. It is expected to gradually decline to 70.1% GDP in 2022 and 64.5% GDP in 2023 (IMF). As pointed out by the IMF, risks to debt sustainability will need to be carefully monitored. Inflation reached an estimated 2.4% in 2021, driven by an increase in food prices, and is expected to decline progressively to 2% in 2022 and 1.5% in 2023, well below the WAEMU’s standard of 3%. After focusing on the health response and immediate economic support, the authorities are now focused on implementing the revised Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE). The objective is to promote strong and inclusive private sector-led growth through structural transformation and diversification, with a new emphasis on accelerating the domestic production of critical supplies through sectorial policies (IMF). Increasing revenue mobilization, containing energy subsidies, improving business environment, enhancing the social safety net, broadening access to quality education, addressing youth unemployment and tackling financial system weaknesses are the key challenges identified by the IMF.
According to the World Bank, if PSE reforms continue, the poor layer of the Senegalese population would progressively be able to access high growth or value-added sectors, such as horticulture or agricultural processing. Senegal has been ranked 168th in the human development index. In 2020, the unemployment rate of the country was at 7.1% (ILO Estimate). The urban population working in the informal sector was particularly hit by the pandemic, with about 85% of households reporting declining incomes (IMF).
Main Indicators | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 (e) | 2022 (e) | 2023 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GDP (billions USD) | 23.31e | 24.68 | 27.58 | 30.04 | 34.34 |
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | 4.4 | 1.5e | 4.7 | 5.5 | 10.8 |
GDP per Capita (USD) | 1,430 | 1,474 | 1,603 | 1,699 | 1,891 |
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) | 63.8 | 68.7 | 71.9 | 70.1 | 64.5 |
Inflation Rate (%) | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 2.2 |
Current Account (billions USD) | -1.90 | -2.51 | -3.36 | -3.48 | -2.06 |
Current Account (in % of GDP) | -8.1 | -10.2 | -12.2 | -11.6 | -6.0 |
Source: IMF – World Economic Outlook Database , October 2021
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Even though Senegal is relatively poor in natural resources, the country is rich in minerals, especially phosphates and iron ore. Senegal is one of the world’s leading phosphate producers, and has significant deposits of zirconium, titanium, marble, gold, and limestone, as well as several types of precious stones. Senegal is expected to become an oil and gas producer from 2023. Although only 16.62 % of the land is arable, agriculture employs 30% of the workforce and contributes to 17% of the GDP. Senegalese agriculture is highly vulnerable to climatic hazards and locust threats. Senegal's main crops are peanuts, black-eyed peas, cassava, watermelons, millet, rice and corn. Fishing is also an important source of revenue. To facilitate the processing of agricultural products, the government is setting up four agro-food processing hubs (“agropoles”) (IMF).
The industrial sector contributes to 23.2% of the GDP and employs 13% of the workforce. It is based essentially on the production of fertilizers and phosphoric acid - which is sent to India, as well as peanut processing (oil and cattle meal) and seafood processing (despite a growing depletion in resource). The most important industrial segment is food production, followed by textiles and chemical industries. Senegalese industries also produce construction materials, machinery, equipment, electricity, and water. The government is supporting the establishment of an integrated park for the pharmaceutical, biomedical and pharmacopoeia industry (“Pharmapolis”) (IMF).
The service sector contributes to 49.9% to the GDP and employs 57% of the workforce. It benefits from the country's excellent telecommunications infrastructure, which fosters investment in tele-services and the Internet. This sector has been expanding steadily. Tourism has also been growing, particularly among European travellers but the covid-19 crisis has severely impacted this dynamic. The pandemic’s impact was particularly severe on contact-intensive and mobility dependent sectors and the informal sector (IMF).
Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
---|---|---|---|
Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) | 30.1 | 13.1 | 56.8 |
Value Added (in % of GDP) | 15.8 | 23.1 | 49.0 |
Value Added (Annual % Change) | 8.2 | 2.9 | -1.7 |
Source: World Bank - Latest available data.
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Monetary Indicators | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
CFA Franc BCEAO (XOF) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 MUR | 16.68 | 16.88 | 16.38 | 16.50 | 14.63 |
Source: World Bank - Latest available data.
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The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.
Economic freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Index of Economic Freedom, Heritage Foundation
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Senegal is an open economy where foreign trade accounts for 56% of its GDP (World Bank's latest available data). According to Comtrade, in 2020, the country’s main exports were gold (18.7%), petroleum oils (15.6%), frozen fish (7.6%) diphosphorus pentaoxide (6.7%), and groundnuts (5%). Meanwhile, main imports include petroleum oils (20.4%), rice (5.5%) and medicaments (3.4%).
The country's main export destinations in 2020 were Mali, Switzerland, India, China, and Australia while it imported mostly from France, China, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Nigeria. Senegal is a member of the Economic Community of West African States, and the country has trade agreements with several countries, including the EU, the United States, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan, and Australia. Given its growing influence in the African continent, China has become an increasingly important partner of Senegal, illustrated by the China-Africa summits and the boom of Senegalese exports to China. Senegal's trade policies are designed to help reduce the trade deficit, ensure regular supplies to the domestic market, promote local value chains, strengthen the regional integration process and access to international markets and promote competition. Under the Emerging Senegal Plan, the government seeks to deepen regional integration by further developing the infrastructure network; eliminating barriers to the free movement of persons, goods, and services; and developing intra-community trade.
Senegalese foreign trade is characterized by a structural current account deficit, which reaches an amount equivalent to more than 10% of GDP. Future offshore oil production will help narrow the deficit in the medium term. The trade deficit (of goods) for 2020 amounted to USD 3.9 billion. In 2020, imports of goods decreased to USD 7.8 billion while exports of goods decreased to USD 3.9 billion. The country imported services for the total value of USD 2.3 billion while its services exports amounted to USD 758 million (WTO).
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 5,478 | 6,729 | 8,071 | 8,143 | 7,812 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 2,640 | 2,989 | 3,623 | 4,179 | 3,929 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 1,374 | 1,464 | 1,643 | 1,807 | 2,327 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 1,230 | 1,130 | 1,216 | 1,204 | 758 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 6.7 | 16.7 | 9.0 | 5.3 | 2.6 |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 4.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 11.2 | -4.6 |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 32.5 | 35.8 | 38.8 | 38.5 | 36.9 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 21.6 | 21.9 | 22.9 | 24.3 | 22.4 |
Trade Balance (million USD) | -1,965 | -2,702 | -3,396 | n/a | n/a |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | -2,087 | -2,906 | -3,673 | n/a | n/a |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 54.1 | 57.7 | 61.8 | 62.8 | 59.3 |
Source: WTO – World Trade Organisation ; World Bank , Latest Available Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2020 |
---|---|
Mali | 21.0% |
Switzerland | 12.4% |
India | 7.6% |
China | 6.7% |
Australia | 5.4% |
See More Countries | 46.9% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2020 |
---|---|
France | 15.7% |
China | 9.2% |
Netherlands | 6.2% |
Belgium | 6.0% |
Nigeria | 5.7% |
See More Countries | 57.3% |
Source: Comtrade, Latest Available Data
Source: Comtrade, Latest Available Data
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1.4 bn USD of services exported in 2018 | |
---|---|
35.37% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 28.19% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 7.18% |
14.65% | |
14.63% | |
14.06% | |
11.52% | |
6.46% | |
1.25% | |
1.22% | |
0.47% | |
0.39% |
1.7 bn USD of services imported in 2018 | |
---|---|
55.60% | |
10.51% | |
10.13% | |
Personal travelPersonal travel | 5.41% |
Business travelBusiness travel | 4.72% |
8.04% | |
7.38% | |
3.24% | |
2.99% | |
0.98% | |
0.61% | |
0.52% |
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, Latest Available Data
-Alliance for The Republic (APR)-centre, liberal
- The PDS (Democratic Senegalese Party) - Liberal Democratic Party;
- AFP (Alliance of Progressive Forces) - progressive liberal party, which believes in social justice and development;
- The PS (Socialist Party of Senegal) - Socialist Democratic Party, whose base of the electorate is at the level of the unions;
- The African Party for Democracy and Socialism - Socialist Revolutionary Party;
- URD (Union for Democratic Renewal) - liberal democratic party.
The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
Source: World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders
The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House
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Latest Update: July 2022