West Africa is home to a variety of nations that have experienced a political coup since gaining their independence from the European powers. All except for the nation Senegal. First, the aspect we shall consider Senegal’s economy in comparison to the other West African nations since gaining their independence. For example, does Senegal have a lower unemployment rate, lower poverty line and lower national debt when in comparison to other West African nations. Another factor could be the how social life is managed in the country of Senegal. For example, how long have the people of Senegal had running water, electricity and the internet. Also, does the government of Senegal maintain those utilities well? Finally, the last aspect that will be
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Before diving into the economy of Senegal, one must learn about the terrain of the country. Senegal is located at an ecological boundary where grasslands, ocean front and tropical rainforest converge. With such a diverse terrain, Senegal has an abundance amount of natural resources, like peanuts and fish, and large mineral deposits such as lime, aluminum, petroleum, high-grade iron ore, gold, natural gas, and salt works (Britannica.com. Accessed June 1, 2016). But like most West African nations, Senegal fell victim to the reliance of a cash crop, in Senegal case it 's peanuts. This reliance made Senegal’s economy very one dimensional on exporting this cash crop that it imported, like many other West African nations, manufactured goods. Meaning that the need to develop a self sufficient manufacturing industry was not existent while under colonial rule. Once gaining independence, all West African nations faced the similar problems like developing a proper infrastructure to create a better economy for the nation and its people. At the beginning of their independence Senegal tried a control economy under the leadership of Léopold Senghor (their first leader). But, like many other West African nations that did the same, the economy of Senegal suffered. Senegal and other West African nation 's’ economy still suffer to this day due to the decline in their own cash crop markets. …show more content…
A couple things that Senegal does beat the other West African nations is religious and ethnic unity. Senegal has three primary ethnic groups the Wolof (43.3%), the Pular (23.8%) and the Serer (14.7%) (Un.org. Accessed on June 2, 2016). The country is primarily Muslim with about 94% of total population (Un.org. Accessed on June 2, 2016). With such a high portion of the Senegal population being one religion, it creates a unity for its people. It causes the religion tensions to almost be non-existent. But this unity of people does not stop crime from happening. The country of Senegal, when comparing to other countries of West Africa has the most accounted murders and rapes of the West African region. However, Senegal does ranks around the middle when compared to other countries of the world. They averaged about 83.91 murders per million people and 53.51 rapes per million people in 2008 (Un.org. Accessed on June 2, 2016). This means that even with unity in religion and the few ethnic groups in Senegal does not play into the social peace of Senegal. Looking at the education level of Senegal compared to the other West African nations, Senegal ranks around the middle in adult literacy with a 41.89% (Un.org. Accessed on June 2, 2016). Meaning that other African nations do
Before diving into the economy of Senegal, one must learn about the terrain of the country. Senegal is located at an ecological boundary where grasslands, ocean front and tropical rainforest converge. With such a diverse terrain, Senegal has an abundance amount of natural resources, like peanuts and fish, and large mineral deposits such as lime, aluminum, petroleum, high-grade iron ore, gold, natural gas, and salt works (Britannica.com. Accessed June 1, 2016). But like most West African nations, Senegal fell victim to the reliance of a cash crop, in Senegal case it 's peanuts. This reliance made Senegal’s economy very one dimensional on exporting this cash crop that it imported, like many other West African nations, manufactured goods. Meaning that the need to develop a self sufficient manufacturing industry was not existent while under colonial rule. Once gaining independence, all West African nations faced the similar problems like developing a proper infrastructure to create a better economy for the nation and its people. At the beginning of their independence Senegal tried a control economy under the leadership of Léopold Senghor (their first leader). But, like many other West African nations that did the same, the economy of Senegal suffered. Senegal and other West African nation 's’ economy still suffer to this day due to the decline in their own cash crop markets. …show more content…
A couple things that Senegal does beat the other West African nations is religious and ethnic unity. Senegal has three primary ethnic groups the Wolof (43.3%), the Pular (23.8%) and the Serer (14.7%) (Un.org. Accessed on June 2, 2016). The country is primarily Muslim with about 94% of total population (Un.org. Accessed on June 2, 2016). With such a high portion of the Senegal population being one religion, it creates a unity for its people. It causes the religion tensions to almost be non-existent. But this unity of people does not stop crime from happening. The country of Senegal, when comparing to other countries of West Africa has the most accounted murders and rapes of the West African region. However, Senegal does ranks around the middle when compared to other countries of the world. They averaged about 83.91 murders per million people and 53.51 rapes per million people in 2008 (Un.org. Accessed on June 2, 2016). This means that even with unity in religion and the few ethnic groups in Senegal does not play into the social peace of Senegal. Looking at the education level of Senegal compared to the other West African nations, Senegal ranks around the middle in adult literacy with a 41.89% (Un.org. Accessed on June 2, 2016). Meaning that other African nations do