Senegal

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Senegal

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Ethnicity

Senegal has a wide variety of ethnic groups and, accordingly, multiple languages are spoken. French is the official language but is used regularly only by the literate minority. The Wolof are the largest single group in Senegal at 43%, other ethnic groups include the Fula (24%), the Serer (15%), the Jola (4%), Mandinka (3%), beside numerous smaller communities. About 50,000 Europeans (mostly French) and Lebanese reside in Senegal, mainly in the cities. Among

Related Topics:
Wide variety of ethnic groups - French - Wolof - Fula - Serer - Jola - Mandinka - Europe - French - Lebanese

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those cities as well, there are also some Chinese and Vietnamese minorities.

Related Topics:
Chinese - Vietnamese

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Religion

Senegal recognizes and respects all cultures, religions, and traditions. Islam is the predominant religion, practiced by approximately 94 percent of the country?s population; the Christian community, at 4 percent of the population, includes Roman Catholics and diverse Protestant denominations. The country is ethnically and religiously diverse.

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Islam - Christian - Roman Catholics - Protestant

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Islam

Islamic communities are generally organized around one of several Islamic Sufi orders or brotherhoods, headed by a khalif (xaliifa in Wolof, from Arabic khal?fa), who is usually a direct descendant of the group?s founder. The two largest and most prominent Sufi orders in Senegal are the Tijaniyya, whose largest sub-groups are based in the cities of Tivaouane and Kaolack, and the Mur?diyya (Murid), based in the city of Touba. The Halpulaar, a widespread ethnic group found along the Sahel from Chad to Senegal, representing 20 percent of the senegalese population, were the first to be converted to Islam. The Halpulaar, composed of various Fula people groups, named Peuls and Toucouleurs in Senegal. 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. Most communities south of the Senegal River Valley, however, were not thoroughly Islamized until the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During the mid-nineteenth century, Islam became a banner of resistance against the traditional aristocracies and French colonialism, and Tij?n? leaders Al-Hajj Umar Tall and Màbba Jaxu Ba established short-lived but influential Islamic states but were both killed in battle and their empires than annexed by the French.

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Sufi - Khalif - Tijaniyya - Tivaouane - Kaolack - Mur?diyya (Murid) - Touba - Halpulaar - Fula people - Toucouleur - Al-Hajj Umar Tall - Màbba Jaxu Ba

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The spread of formal Quranic school (called daara in Wolof) during the colonial period increased largely through the effort of the Tijaniyya. 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 Q?diriyya order and the Senegalese Laayeen order, which is prominent among the coastal Lebu. Today, most Senegalese children study at daaras for several years, memorizing as much of the Qur'an as they can. Some of them continue their religious studies at informal Arabic schools (majlis) or at the growing number of private Arabic schools and publicly funded Franco-Arabic schools.

Related Topics:
Q?diriyya - Laayeen

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Christianity

Small Roman Catholic communities are mainly found in coastal Serer, Diola and Balant populations, and in Oriental Senegal among the Bassari and Coniagui. In Dakar, Catholic and Protestant rites are also practiced by a portion of the Lebanese, Capeverdian, European, and American immigrant population, and among certain Africans of other countries. Although Islam is Senegal's majority religion, Senegal's first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, was a Catholic Serer.

Related Topics:
Serer - Diola - Balant - Bassari - Coniagui - Dakar

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Habitation patterns

About 70% of Senegal's population lives in rural areas. Density in these areas varies from about 77 km² in the west-central region to 2 km²in the arid eastern section.

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