PollsAfricaWork with us
Menu
Countries
Data
Government and politics
Government directoryElectionsConstitutionscoming soon
Public money
Government budgetsAfrican economies
Everyday life
Fuel pricescoming soonMinimum wagecoming soonPublic holidayscoming soonDevelopment jobscoming soon
Research environment
Research permits and data protectioncoming soonStatistics offices and surveyscoming soonExams and universitiescoming soon
All datasets and update dates →
PulseInsights
Research services
What we doFor development partnersFor businessCapability statementClient study room login
About
About PollsAfricaMethods and standardsCredentialsContact
Work with us
African economies
Senegal · Economy

Senegal economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances

How large the Senegal economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.

GDP
US$37.0 billion
current US$, 2025
Real GDP growth
6.7%
2025
GDP per person
US$1,955
current US$, 2025
Exports of goods
US$10.0 billion
2025
Remittances received
US$3.3 billion
2023, 10.6% of GDP
Foreign direct investment, net inflows
US$37 million
2025, 0.1% of GDP

Senegal economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person

Senegal's GDP was US$37.0 billion in 2025, after real growth of 6.7%.

GDP

Current US dollars.

010bn20bn30bn40bn201520172019202120232025GDP 2015: US$17.8 billionGDP 2016: US$19.0 billionGDP 2017: US$21.0 billionGDP 2018: US$23.1 billionGDP 2019: US$23.4 billionGDP 2020: US$24.5 billionGDP 2021: US$27.5 billionGDP 2022: US$27.8 billionGDP 2023: US$30.7 billionGDP 2024: US$32.2 billionGDP 2025: US$37.0 billion

Real GDP growth

Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.

0%2%4%6%8%201520172019202120232025Real GDP growth 2015: 6.4%Real GDP growth 2016: 6.4%Real GDP growth 2017: 7.4%Real GDP growth 2018: 6.2%Real GDP growth 2019: 4.6%Real GDP growth 2020: 1.3%Real GDP growth 2021: 6.5%Real GDP growth 2022: 3.9%Real GDP growth 2023: 4.3%Real GDP growth 2024: 6.5%Real GDP growth 2025: 6.7%

GDP per person

Current US dollars.

05001k2k2k201520172019202120232025GDP per person 2015: US$1,218GDP per person 2016: US$1,266GDP per person 2017: US$1,355GDP per person 2018: US$1,453GDP per person 2019: US$1,431GDP per person 2020: US$1,461GDP per person 2021: US$1,598GDP per person 2022: US$1,574GDP per person 2023: US$1,698GDP per person 2024: US$1,739GDP per person 2025: US$1,955

Source: World Bank, 2025. Method

Who invests in Senegal and in what

Direct investment by investing country

United Kingdom was the largest investing country in Senegal, at 20% of inward direct investment positions in 2022.

Inward direct investment positions in Senegal at the end of 2022: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 10 largest investing countries.

United KingdomUS$2.4 billion19.9%
AustraliaUS$2.1 billion17.2%
FranceUS$1.8 billion15.1%
NetherlandsUS$1.2 billion9.7%
MauritiusUS$541 million4.5%
ChinaUS$183 million1.5%
IndonesiaUS$144 million1.2%
United StatesUS$142 million1.2%
IndiaUS$138 million1.1%
MoroccoUS$117 million1.0%

Source: IMF, 2022. Method

What Senegal sells and buys

Mineral fuels and oils was 43% of exports in 2025.

Senegal sold the most to Mali, 16% of exports in 2025.

Exports by product, 2025

Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.

Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation: US$4.3 billion, 43.2%Mineral fuels and oils43%Natural, cultured pearls: US$1.7 billion, 16.9%Pearls, precious stones and metals17%Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates: US$535 million, 5.4%Fish and…5%Inorganic chemicals: US$463 million, 4.6%Salt: US$328 million, 3.3%Ores, slag and ash: US$271 million, 2.7%Ships, boats and floating structures: US$217 million, 2.2%Fruit and nuts, edible: US$205 million, 2.1%Miscellaneous edible preparations: US$203 million, 2.0%Miscella…2%Iron and steel: US$162 million, 1.6%Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry: US$117 million, 1.2%Vegetables and certain roots and tubers: US$109 million, 1.1%All other chapters: US$1.4 billion, 13.7%All other chapters14%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Top buyers, 2025

Share of Senegal's exports.

MaliUS$1.6 billion16.1%
SwitzerlandUS$1.1 billion11.2%
NetherlandsUS$916 million9.2%
ChinaUS$848 million8.5%
IndiaUS$682 million6.8%
SpainUS$648 million6.5%
ItalyUS$625 million6.3%
United StatesUS$374 million3.7%
AustraliaUS$353 million3.5%
United KingdomUS$274 million2.8%

Top suppliers, 2025

Share of Senegal's imports.

ChinaUS$1.7 billion14.2%
FranceUS$1.2 billion9.8%
RussiaUS$851 million7.1%
IndiaUS$725 million6.1%
NigeriaUS$711 million5.9%
United Arab EmiratesUS$556 million4.6%
SpainUS$543 million4.5%
United StatesUS$458 million3.8%
TurkeyUS$302 million2.5%
NetherlandsUS$293 million2.4%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

What Senegal buys, 2025

The 8 largest product chapters in imports.

Mineral fuels and oilsUS$3.4 billion28.0%
CerealsUS$1.0 billion8.5%
Machinery and mechanical appliancesUS$841 million7.0%
Electrical machinery and equipmentUS$800 million6.7%
VehiclesUS$589 million4.9%
Ships and boatsUS$577 million4.8%
Iron and steelUS$408 million3.4%
Pharmaceutical productsUS$372 million3.1%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Trade balance of goods

Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.

-8.0bn-6.0bn-4.0bn-2.0bn0201520172019202120232025Trade balance 2015: -US$3.0 billion (exports US$2.6 billion, imports US$5.6 billion)Trade balance 2016: -US$2.8 billion (exports US$2.6 billion, imports US$5.5 billion)Trade balance 2017: -US$3.7 billion (exports US$3.0 billion, imports US$6.7 billion)Trade balance 2018: -US$4.4 billion (exports US$3.6 billion, imports US$8.1 billion)Trade balance 2019: -US$4.0 billion (exports US$4.2 billion, imports US$8.1 billion)Trade balance 2020: -US$3.9 billion (exports US$3.9 billion, imports US$7.8 billion)Trade balance 2021: -US$4.5 billion (exports US$5.2 billion, imports US$9.7 billion)Trade balance 2022: -US$6.4 billion (exports US$5.7 billion, imports US$12.1 billion)Trade balance 2023: -US$6.6 billion (exports US$5.3 billion, imports US$11.9 billion)Trade balance 2024: -US$5.1 billion (exports US$6.3 billion, imports US$11.4 billion)Trade balance 2025: -US$2.0 billion (exports US$10.0 billion, imports US$12.0 billion)

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Remittances against foreign direct investment in Senegal

Foreign direct investment in Senegal was 1.5 times remittances in 2023.

Remittances receivedForeign direct investment, net inflows
02.0bn4.0bn6.0bn201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: US$1.8 billionRemittances 2016: US$2.0 billionRemittances 2017: US$2.1 billionRemittances 2018: US$2.4 billionRemittances 2019: US$2.5 billionRemittances 2020: US$2.6 billionRemittances 2021: US$3.1 billionRemittances 2022: US$2.9 billionRemittances 2023: US$3.3 billionForeign direct investment 2015: US$409 millionForeign direct investment 2016: US$472 millionForeign direct investment 2017: US$588 millionForeign direct investment 2018: US$848 millionForeign direct investment 2019: US$1.1 billionForeign direct investment 2020: US$1.8 billionForeign direct investment 2021: US$2.6 billionForeign direct investment 2022: US$2.9 billionForeign direct investment 2023: US$4.8 billionForeign direct investment 2024: US$3.3 billionForeign direct investment 2025: US$37 million

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Remittances and investment as a share of GDP

The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.

Remittances, share of GDPForeign direct investment, share of GDP
0%5%10%15%20%201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: 9.9%Remittances 2016: 10.4%Remittances 2017: 10.2%Remittances 2018: 10.5%Remittances 2019: 10.8%Remittances 2020: 10.6%Remittances 2021: 11.3%Remittances 2022: 10.5%Remittances 2023: 10.6%Foreign direct investment 2015: 2.3%Foreign direct investment 2016: 2.5%Foreign direct investment 2017: 2.8%Foreign direct investment 2018: 3.7%Foreign direct investment 2019: 4.6%Foreign direct investment 2020: 7.5%Foreign direct investment 2021: 9.4%Foreign direct investment 2022: 10.5%Foreign direct investment 2023: 15.6%Foreign direct investment 2024: 10.3%Foreign direct investment 2025: 0.1%

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Who Senegal owes

External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.

Multilateral creditors held 20% of Senegal's external debt stock in 2024.

Public external debt owed to China was US$2.2 billion in 2024, 5% of the external debt stock.

MultilateralBilateralBondsCommercial banksRest of the totalPublic debt owed to China
020bn40bn60bn20152017201920212023Multilateral 2015: US$2.8 billionBilateral 2015: US$1.5 billionBonds 2015: US$886 millionCommercial banks 2015: US$174 millionRest of the total 2015: US$5.1 billionMultilateral 2016: US$3.1 billionBilateral 2016: US$2.0 billionBonds 2016: US$874 millionCommercial banks 2016: US$170 millionRest of the total 2016: US$5.3 billionMultilateral 2017: US$3.6 billionBilateral 2017: US$2.5 billionBonds 2017: US$2.0 billionCommercial banks 2017: US$199 millionRest of the total 2017: US$5.9 billionMultilateral 2018: US$4.3 billionBilateral 2018: US$3.4 billionBonds 2018: US$4.2 billionCommercial banks 2018: US$207 millionRest of the total 2018: US$7.9 billionMultilateral 2019: US$5.5 billionBilateral 2019: US$3.8 billionBonds 2019: US$4.1 billionCommercial banks 2019: US$245 millionRest of the total 2019: US$7.1 billionMultilateral 2020: US$6.7 billionBilateral 2020: US$4.4 billionBonds 2020: US$4.2 billionCommercial banks 2020: US$557 millionRest of the total 2020: US$10.2 billionMultilateral 2021: US$7.1 billionBilateral 2021: US$4.5 billionBonds 2021: US$4.2 billionCommercial banks 2021: US$785 millionRest of the total 2021: US$14.0 billionMultilateral 2022: US$7.7 billionBilateral 2022: US$4.6 billionBonds 2022: US$4.1 billionCommercial banks 2022: US$1.2 billionRest of the total 2022: US$17.9 billionMultilateral 2023: US$9.4 billionBilateral 2023: US$5.1 billionBonds 2023: US$4.2 billionCommercial banks 2023: US$2.9 billionRest of the total 2023: US$23.8 billionMultilateral 2024: US$9.5 billionBilateral 2024: US$5.0 billionBonds 2024: US$5.0 billionCommercial banks 2024: US$4.8 billionRest of the total 2024: US$22.8 billionPublic debt owed to China 2015: US$504 millionPublic debt owed to China 2016: US$902 millionPublic debt owed to China 2017: US$1.1 billionPublic debt owed to China 2018: US$1.5 billionPublic debt owed to China 2019: US$1.7 billionPublic debt owed to China 2020: US$1.8 billionPublic debt owed to China 2021: US$1.9 billionPublic debt owed to China 2022: US$2.1 billionPublic debt owed to China 2023: US$2.3 billionPublic debt owed to China 2024: US$2.2 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Reserves and months of import cover

Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.

No reserves figures for Senegal are not published by the World Bank, so none are shown.

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Aid received by Senegal

Net official development assistance and official aid received.

0500m1.0bn1.5bn2.0bn20152017201920212023Aid received 2015: US$869 millionAid received 2016: US$731 millionAid received 2017: US$908 millionAid received 2018: US$999 millionAid received 2019: US$1.4 billionAid received 2020: US$1.6 billionAid received 2021: US$1.4 billionAid received 2022: US$1.5 billionAid received 2023: US$1.9 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

More on Senegal

World Bank data pages for Senegal: GDP, GDP growth, GDP per person, remittances, foreign direct investment, reserves, months of imports, external debt, debt by creditor, aid. UN Comtrade: trade data. IMF: direct investment positions.