The Senegal National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) has released its latest data set revealing that there are more Senegalese males than females.
Of the estimated 18,501,985 resident population, 9,419,549 are male with 9,173,709 female, representing 50.7% and 49.3% of the total population, respectively. This means that there are 102.7 men for every 100 women. However, for certain age groups, such as 20-39 years and 50 years and over, there are more women than men.
The document highlighted that people under 35 years of age represent 76% of population with children under five years of age in estimated at 2,390,600, or 12.9% of the total population.
The distribution of the resident population by region reveals significant disparities. The Dakar region alone accounts for 21.9% of the country’s total population. It is followed by the regions of Thiès (13.6%), Diourbel (11.5%), and Kaolack (7.4%). These four regions together (Dakar, Thiès, Diourbel, and Kaolack) are home to 54.4% of Senegal’s population in 2024. Conversely, the regions of Kédougou (1.4%), Sédhiou (3.3%), and Ziguinchor (3.4%) are, in that order, the least populated.
The demographic weight of the regions contrasts sharply with their size. The Dakar region, the smallest in the country (0.3% of the country’s area), alone accounts for 21.9% of the total population. In contrast, the Tambacounda region, the largest in the country (21.5% of the country’s area), represents only 5.5% of Senegal’s population. These contrasts result in highly variable population densities from one region to another. The Dakar region, the most densely populated, stands out with a density of 7,627 inhabitants per km², representing nearly 81 times the country’s average density (95 inhabitants/km²). The least densely populated regions are Kédougou (15 inhabitants/km² in 2023 and 14 inhabitants/km² in 2022) and Tambacounda (24 inhabitants/km²).
Furthermore, the majority of Senegal’s population resides in urban areas (54.9%). Regions exhibit varying levels of urbanization. With a 100% urbanisation rate, Dakar is characterized by a completely urbanized population. It is followed by the regions of Diourbel (66.9%), Thiès (58.0%), and Ziguinchor (55.4%), which have urbanisation rates above the national average.
Life expectancy at birth increased for both men and women, but it was higher for women than for men, rising from 67.7 years for men (70 years for women) in 2023 to 68.1 years (70.4 years for women) in 2024.
