Senegal
Republic of Senegal
Africa
Geography
Area: 196,722 sq km
Mainland Africa’s most westerly state: arid, with few natural resources.
Population: 12,860,717 Annual Growth: 2.66%
Capital: Dakar
Urbanites: 42.9%
HDI Rank: 166 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)
Peoples
Peoples: 57 (47% unreached)
Official language: French. Language of wider communication, Wolof; spoken as a first language by around 40% of the population Languages: 46
Prayer Needs
Spiritually, Senegal is both open and closed. The nation enjoys religious freedom and is remarkably tolerant toward other faiths – a point of pride for Senegalese, perhaps because so few Muslims have ever come to Christ. Despite a longstanding Christian presence and outreach, a spiritual heaviness covers the land. Allegiance to religious leaders renewed in each generation prevents any significant people movement to Christ. Virtually all Wolof, Fulbe and Mande peoples remain Muslim. Pray for the spiritual breakthrough for which so many wait.
Islam dominates religious life, growing from about 45% of the population in 1900 to over 90% by 1960. The Muslim Sufi brotherhoods are well organized, wealthy and politically powerful; over 85% of all Muslims belong to one of them. The Mouride Brotherhood is virtually a state within a state, based in their capital, Touba. But aggressive Islamist groups funded by Saudi Arabia and Libya are making inroads and threaten the tolerant status quo. Pray that religious tyranny might be thwarted, and that God may use all forces to draw people to Himself.
Largest Religion: Muslim
| Religion | Pop % | Ann Gr | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 825,658 | 6.42 | 3.0 |
| Evangelicals | 25,792 | 0.2 | 6.1 |
| Muslim | 11,709,683 | 91.05 |
No comments:
Post a Comment