Senegal

Located in the westernmost part of the African continent, Senegal is bordered by Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. With a tropical and dry climate, the country has a population of 18,032,473 million people, nearly a quarter of whom live in the Dakar region (which accounts for only 0.3% of the country's territory).

Political Situation

Senegal remains one of the most stable countries in Africa. The country has experienced three peaceful political transitions since gaining independence in 1960. On March 24, 2024, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, the opposition candidate, was elected as the country's fifth president, winning the election in the first round.

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Senegal’s economy grew 6.1% in 2024, driven by new hydrocarbon production. Non-oil growth slowed to 3.5% dampened by election turmoil, while agriculture production was affected by floods. Inflation fell sharply from 5.9% in 2023 to 0.8% in 2024, led by lower food prices and stable fuel costs.

However, emerging macro fiscal challenges and rising global uncertainties undermine the outlook. The external position strengthened, with the current account deficit narrowing to 12% of GDP, driven by rising oil exports and moderated imports. hydrocarbon production is expected to boost economic growth in 2025. As hydrocarbon revenues gradually increase, Senegal has an opportunity to channel these resources into human capital development, infrastructure, and the energy transition.

Sustained progress will depend on efforts to improve productivity, enhance competitiveness, and create jobs, particularly for youth and underserved populations. Senegal’s recent fiscal transparency review efforts - covering 2019–2023 and revealing substantially higher deficits and public debt than previously disclosed - has materially worsened its macro-fiscal outlook, elevating debt sustainability concerns, pushing up borrowing costs, and contributing to credit rating downgrades.

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Senegal has made measurable progress across key development sectors, supported by World Bank-financed programs.

In education, over 2.1 million students benefited from quality improvement initiatives, including the construction of two excellence high schools with gender parity and the reintegration of 56,869 out-of-school children. Literacy and numeracy proficiency among Grade 4 students rose to 75.4% and 70.3%, respectively.

In transport, the Bus Rapid Transit project reduced travel time between Guediawaye and Dakar from 95 to 45 minutes, while 6,650 jobs were created and 27 km of urban roads paved.

Water and sanitation interventions reached nearly 688,000 people, expanding access to improved water services for over 424,000 and sanitation for more than 83,000. Flood risk mitigation in Dakar protected 128,521 residents and 1,515 hectares of land. In pastoral areas, over 6 million hectares were developed, and 1,414 km of transhumance corridors marked.

Livelihood support reached 32,248 individuals, 87% of whom were women.

These results reflect Senegal’s commitment to inclusive development and resilience, with opportunities to scale impact through continued investment in human capital, infrastructure, and climate adaptation.

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The World Bank is preparing its new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with Senegal for the period 2026-2034. This new phase of a partnership spanning more than 60 years with the country paves the way for promising opportunities for sustainable and inclusive development in line with the new priorities of the Government of Senegal.

The World Bank's portfolio in Senegal includes 21 national projects totaling $ 3.13 billion and 8 regional operations amounting to $7.49 million, all financed by the International Development Association (IDA).

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