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General Information Area: 196,722 sq km (75,955 sq miles). Population: 9,278,617 (1999). Population Density: 47.2 per sq km. Capital: Dakar. Population: 1,488,941 (1992). GEOGRAPHY: Senegal is bordered by Guinea Republic and Guinea-Bissau to the south, Mali to the east and Mauritania to the north, and encloses the confederated state of The Gambia. To the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most land is less than 100m (330ft) above sea level, except for the Fouta Djallon foothills in the southeast and the Bambouk Mountains on the Mali border. On the coast between Dakar and St Louis is a strip of shifting dunes. South of Dakar there are shallow estuaries along the coastline, which is fringed by palm trees. In the northern part of the country, south of the Senegal Basin, lies the arid Fouta Ferlo, a hot dry Sahelian plain with little vegetation. Government: Republic since 1963. Gained independence from France in 1960. Head of State: President Abdoulaye Wade since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Idrissa Seck since 2002. Language: The official language is French. There are many local languages, the principal one being Wolof. Other groups include Peul, Sener and Diola. Religion: Around 94 per cent Muslim, four per cent Christian (mostly Roman Catholic with some Protestants), and a minority holds traditional beliefs. Time: GMT. Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Communications:   Telephone IDD is available. Country code: 221. Outgoing international code: 00. Dial 17 (police) or 18 (fire brigrade) or 821 3213 (emergency medical services). Mobile telephone GSM 900. Main network providers include Sentel (website: www.millicom.com) and Sonatel (website: www.sonatel.sn). Fax Towns have ‘telecentres’ from which faxes can be sent. Sonatel (responsible for all telecommunications) has fax facilities. Some hotels also have fax machines. Internet ISPs include Telecom Plus (website: www.telecomplus.sn). There are Internet cafes in Dakar, Saint Louis and other major towns. Telegram There are facilities at main post offices and several hotels. Post Airmail to Europe takes between seven and ten days, and surface mail between two and six weeks. Press All newspapers are in French and nearly all are controlled directly by political parties. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 17.83 15.40 11.77 7.160 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 15.58 11.98 6.035 0.909 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.