Senegal Senegal is a country in western Africa that borders the Atlantic Ocean and covers a land area of almost 76,000 square miles with an estimated population of about 13 million people. The climate is tropical with two seasons:  the rainy season and the dry season, when temperatures reach as high as 129 °F (54 °C) during the mid-day hours.  The Senegalese landscape consists mainly of the rolling sandy plains of the western Sahel which rise to foothills in the southeast. French is the official language, used regularly only by a minority of the people in Senegal who have been educated in French style schools.  Senegal has a wide variety of ethnic groups and, as in many West African countries, most people speak their own ethnic language. The Wolof are the largest ethnic group in the northern regions of Senegal and the Mandinka are the largest ethnic group in the southern regions. Senegal faces deep-seated problems of chronic high unemployment and great socio-economic disparity with the majority of people living in extreme poverty.  Access to clean water is one of the greatest needs of people in Senegal.  Village women walk miles each day to fetch water from open, unclean sources.  Further, as a result of the lack of regular rainfall and the subsequent drought conditions, people very often cannot grow enough food to sustain their families.  Malnutrition coupled with little or no access to healthcare is a serious problem in Senegal.  In fact, there were only 6 physicians per 100,000 persons in Sengal in 2010 and infant mortality was at 77 per 1,000 live births, with malaria and malnutrition being the largest causes of infant mortality. Islam is the predominant religion in Senegal and is practiced by approximately 90 percent of the country's population.  Senegal is known across Africa for its musical heritage and is also well known for the West African tradition of storytelling, which is done by griots, who have kept West African history alive for thousands of years through words and music.