Senegal Population
Senegal had an estimated population of 18,931,966 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 68th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.23% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.30% a year.
Senegal at a glance
How Senegal's population is changing
Senegal's population is growing fast: +2.30% a year, which works out to about +434,940 people per year, or +1,191 a day. Births (29.2 per 1,000) and deaths (5.5 per 1,000) alone would give +2.37% a year; net migration removes about 12,636 people a year (−0.07%). Roughly one in every 434 people on Earth lives in Senegal.
Population of Senegal since 1960
In 1960, Senegal had 3,340,907 people. By 2025 that was 18,931,966 — 5.7× larger. The fastest growth came between 1964 and 1974, when the population rose by 34%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3,340,907 | — |
| 1970 | 4,466,328 | +33.7% |
| 1980 | 5,845,638 | +30.9% |
| 1990 | 7,720,523 | +32.1% |
| 2000 | 9,968,260 | +29.1% |
| 2010 | 12,635,413 | +26.8% |
| 2020 | 16,789,219 | +32.9% |
| 2025 | 18,931,966 | +12.8% |
Senegal from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Senegal at about 1,009,886 people in 1800; the UN estimates 18,931,969 in 2025 (19× 1800) and projects 47,014,189 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 148% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,009,886 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 936,513 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 1,377,037 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 2,555,376 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 9,968,262 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 18,931,969 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 30,364,953 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 40,728,577 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 47,014,189 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Senegal
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 18,931,966. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dakar | 3,852,475 | UN urban centre | 20.35% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Touba | 1,151,552 | UN urban centre | 6.08% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Mbour | 553,170 | UN urban centre | 2.92% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Thiès | 521,678 | UN urban centre | 2.76% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Kaolack | 412,347 | UN urban centre | 2.18% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Guédiawaye | 329,659 | GeoNames settlement | 1.74% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 7 | Ziguinchor | 282,751 | UN urban centre | 1.49% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Saint-Louis | 270,413 | UN urban centre | 1.43% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Thiès Nones | 252,320 | GeoNames settlement | 1.33% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 10 | Tambacounda | 241,254 | UN urban centre | 1.27% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Senegal compares
Senegal has almost the same population as Romania (19,020,271).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Senegal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #66 |  Somalia | 19,654,739 | +4% | compare → |
| #67 |  Romania | 19,020,271 | +0% | compare → |
| #69 |  Guatemala | 18,687,881 | −1% | compare → |
| #70 |  Ecuador | 18,289,896 | −3% | compare → |
Compare Senegal with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Senegal
Land neighbours (5)
Mali 25,198,821 · 1.3× the population · compare
Guinea 15,099,727 · 1.3× smaller · compare
Mauritania 5,315,065 · 3.6× smaller · compare
Gambia 2,822,093 · 6.7× smaller · compare
Guinea-Bissau 2,249,515 · 8.4× smaller · compare
Senegal's 5 neighbours together hold 50,685,221 people — 2.7× Senegal's population. The most populous is Mali (25,198,821).
In its region
Senegal is the 22nd most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 1.4% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Dakar, Touba, Mbour, Thiès, Kaolack, Guédiawaye, Ziguinchor, Saint-Louis — all Senegal's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Senegal when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.