Formerly a French colony, it has been independent since 11 September 1960. The “father of the country”, the writer Léopold S. Senghor, was President until 1980. From 1982 to 1989, the country was part of the Senegambia Confederation, along with The Gambia. After A. Diouf’s long presidency (1981-2000), the opposition candidate, A. Wade, (Senegalese Democratic Party) proved victorious, later beaten at the 2012 elections by Macky Sall, founder of the Alliance for the Republic party. Between 1983 and 2004, a separatist guerrilla movement developed in the Casamance region led by the MFDC (Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance); after the 2004 peace agreements some militia have remained active.
According to the 2001 Constitution, the President is elected by direct suffrage for five years which may be renewed only once; the National Assembly is made up of 165 members, elected for five years. The Senate, reintroduced in 2007, was abolished once more by Macky Sall in 2012. The legal system is based on French law.

Since 2015, the economy has experienced solid growth thanks also to abundant harvest in agriculture. The Sall presidency in 2012 enacted the Plan Sénégal Emergent (PSE) to favour growth via economic reforms and infrastructural investments. The agricultural sector is based on the cultivation of peanuts, the country being one of the world’s main producers. Sugar cane, fruit, tomatoes and cotton productions are also noteworthy. Millet, rice, maize and cassava are grown for domestic consumption. The fishing industry, which is important for exports, is going through a crisis due to the fact that waters have been over-exploited. A further important resource is phosphates (deposits in Taïba, Matam and Thiès). Industry is quite developed, especially food manufacturing, shipbuilding, construction, mechanics, textiles and clothing; in Dakar-M’Bao there are chemical and petrochemical plants. The role of numerous Chinese companies wishing to exploit the country’s resources, especially its oil and gas resources, is growing. The CFA franc is pegged to the Euro by a fixed exchange rate. Dakar is a free-trade area and the headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States. Tourism is on the increase.