Senegal is a western African country.

It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north.

Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline.

Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 14 million.

The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season (from October to June) and the rainy season (from July to September).

Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous trading posts, belonging to various colonial empires, were established along the coast.
The town of St. Louis became the capital of French West Africa before it was moved to Dakar in 1902.
Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.