Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Senegal instead of Western Sahara, you would:

Health

live 5.5 years longer

In Western Sahara, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 67 years for women) as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 70 years (68 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 76.0% more money

Western Sahara has a GDP per capita of $2,500 as of 2007, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $4,400 as of 2023.

Life

be 32.3% less likely to die during infancy

In Western Sahara, approximately 47.9 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In Senegal, on the other hand, 32.4 children do as of 2022.

Geography

see 52.2% less coastline

Western Sahara has a total of 1,110 km of coastline. In Senegal, that number is 531 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
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How big is Senegal compared to Western Sahara? See an in-depth size comparison.

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