Dakar

Dakar is the capital city of Senegal, in West Africa. It is on a point of land beside the Atlantic Ocean.

Dakar is the city in Africa that is farthest to the west.

Dakar is the capital of Senegal. It stands on the Cap-Vert peninsula, a point of land facing the Atlantic Ocean, and Universalis calls it the westernmost city in Africa.

Senegal's 2023 census counted 1,278,469 people in the Dakar department. Greater Dakar, which also takes in Pikine, Guédiawaye and Keur Massar, had 3,186,088 people, more than any other city in Senegal.

City Population's table of figures from Senegal's statistics agency (ANSD) gives greater Dakar 3,186,088 people in the census of 18 August 2023, made up of the Dakar department (1,278,469), Pikine department (764,597), Guédiawaye department (372,708) and Keur Massar department; Touba was second with 1,120,824. The Dakar region had 4,004,427.

Universalis calls Dakar the political and economic capital of Senegal since independence in 1960, and a 'macrocephalic' metropolis home to half of the country's urban population.

At the edge of Dakar is the Pointe des Almadies. It is the farthest west you can go on the African mainland!

Near Dakar is a small island called Gorée.

The Pointe des Almadies, in the photo, is the westernmost point of the African mainland, and Wikidata describes it the same way. Beside it are a sandy beach, a stone breakwater and a holiday resort.

In the old center, the Plateau district stands on a rise 20 to 30 meters above the rest of the city, with offices, shops and green spaces. Just north of it, the Médina district was laid out in a grid of streets between 1915 and 1945. The small island of Gorée lies about 4 kilometers east-southeast of the Plateau.

The Commons description of the hero photo calls the Pointe des Almadies the westernmost point of the African continent (mainland) and notes that it lies within a holiday resort. Universalis says the Plateau, on a promontory 20 to 30 m above the rest of the city, matches the old European town and holds the government, business center and upscale homes, while the Médina to the north was organized on a checkerboard plan between 1915 and 1945.

Universalis adds that the city later spread northwest toward the Almadies, north toward N'gor and Yoff, and above all east, until it joined Rufisque, Pikine and Guédiawaye.

Big ships bring goods to Dakar's port.

Many people move to Dakar from the countryside, so the city keeps growing.

Universalis says Dakar's port gained traffic from neighboring countries such as Mali, and gives its traffic as about 10 million tonnes a year.

The city grew very fast as people moved in from the countryside: Universalis gives 400,000 people in 1970 and 2.6 million in 2005, about half of all the people living in Senegal's towns and cities.

Universalis (undated; its newest figure is from 2005) says the port of Dakar gained traffic shifted from elsewhere, notably Mali's, handled about 10 Mt a year, and was being renovated to compete in the region. It describes fast growth from rural migration and natural increase, from 400,000 inhabitants in 1970 to 2.6 million in 2005.

The same article says the newer outer neighborhoods were short of services and transport, so many people made long daily trips to work. Since 2021 the TER has linked Dakar station with the new town of Diamniadio.