What is Senegal famous for quiz and 30 remarkable facts
Lets begin with an easy short quiz in Senegal to test your knowledge.
Senegal's capital is Dakar?
The official language is French?
More than 60% of the population is under the age of 25?
The African Renaissance Monument has 216 steps?
Léopold Senghor was the first president of Senegal,?
What is Senegal famous for, 30 remarkable facts.
Thirty facts on Senegal geography, history, politics, government, economy, population statistics, culture, religion, and languages.
Women of Senegal
2. Senegal is slightly smaller than the US state of South Dakota.
3. More than 60% of the population is under the age of 25.
4. Senegal ethnic groups are Wolof 38.7%, Pular 26.5%, Serer 15%, Mandinka 4.2%, Jola 4%, Soninke 2.3%, other 9.3%.
5. Senegal's nationality is Senegalese using both the singular and plural form.
6. Senegal's capital is Dakar which was home to the Dakar Off-Road Rally until 2009 when the race moved to South Africa.
7. Dakar is also known for its nightlife, centered on native mbalax music.
8. The Dutch established a slave port on island of Goree in 1588 and years later in 1659 it became a key slave trading port.
9. During the Seven Years War 1756–1763, Britain took over French posts in Senegal forming the colony of Senegambia.
10. Slaves, ivory and gold were exported from the coast during the 17th and 18th centuries.
11. Born in Senegal/Gambia in about 1753, poet Phillis Wheatley was brought to Boston, Massachusetts, on a slave ship in 1761 and was purchased by John Wheatley as a personal servant to his wife.
12. The French colonies of Senegal and French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation.
13. In 1960, Senegal exerted its independence from under French rule as an independent nation.
14. The 40-year reign of Senegal's Socialist Party came to a diplomatic end in the 2000 elections.
15. Senegal’s Patriotic Symbol the African Renaissance Monument is to symbolize the achievement of Africa but some have serious issues with the nudity and symbolism of the 164-foot statue.
16. The statue depicts a very muscular man, holding a baby in one hand, leading a voluptuous woman with one exposed breast and supple thighs with the other.
17. Climbing the 216 steps to the African Renaissance Monument you would not immediately discern that local African artists feel unfairly denied the chance to work on a project of national pride.
18. Located in the Senegalese capital of Dakar the African Renaissance Monument cost millions to create, $27 million dollars to be exact.
19. The Senegalese Ex-President, unable to pay the $27 million price tag on the work, gave real estate to North Korea.
20. Languages of Senegal may not surprise you since Senegal was once a French colony, the official language is French, and the other major languages are Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, and Mandinka.
21. Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and it is the indigenous language of the ethnic grouping of the Wolof people.
22. Wolof is the most widely spoken language in Senegal even though the official language is French, by most Senegalese.
23. Republic of Senegal Motto: "Un Peuple, Un But, Une Foi” "One People, One Goal, One Faith".
24. Senegal is named for the Senegal River that forms the northern border of the country; many theories exist for the origin of the river name; perhaps the most widely cited derives the name from "Azenegue," the Portuguese appellation for the Berber Zenaga people who lived north of the river.
25. Independence Day is April 4.
26. Senegal’s president is directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term.
27. Léopold Senghor was a poet, teacher, and diplomat, first president of Senegal, and a major proponent of the concept of Negritude.
28. In 1935, Léopold Senghor became the first African agrégé. An agrégé is an academic rank conferred by a French university on one who has passed a rigidly competitive examination
29. Drafted in 1939 at the beginning of World War II, Senghor was captured in 1940 and spent two years in Nazi concentration camps.
30. Senghor was reelected president in 1963 and retired on Dec. 31, 1980.