Dakar

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	City of Dakar, divided into 19 communes d'arrondissement
	Coordinates: 14°41′34″N 17°26′48″W / 14.69278°N 17.44667°WCoordinates: 14°41′34″N 17°26′48″W / 14.69278°N 17.44667°W
Country	Senegal
Région	Dakar
Département	Dakar
Settled	15th century
Communes d'arrondissement	19
Government
• Mayor	Khalifa Sall (2009) (BSS/PS)
Area
• City	83 km2 (32 sq mi)
Elevation	22 m (72 ft)
Population (2013 estimate)
• City	1,146,053
• Density	12,510/km2 (32,400/sq mi)
• Metro	2,452,656
• Metro density	4,484/km2 (11,610/sq mi)
	Data here are for the administrative Dakar région, which matches almost exactly the limits of the metropolitan area
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
Website	villededakar.org
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Dakar is the capital city of Senegal. It is on the country's Atlantic coast on the western edge of Africa. The city is a trade seaport for items leaving Africa. Dakar has a population of 1,030,594 people. The metropolitan area has about 2.45 million people living in it.

The National Assembly of Senegal and Senegal Presidential Palace are in Dakar.

History

The area that is now Dakar was first settled around the 15th century. In 1444, Portuguese created a colony there. By 1536, the colony was being used to as part of the slave trade. Between 1588 and 1677, the area was fought over by many countries. During this time it was under the control of the Portuguese, Dutch, English, and finally the French.

In 1857, the French built a military base here. This base was called Dakar. It was made the capital of French West Africa in 1902. Dakar was one of the major cities of the French Empire during this time. It was very important in terms of trade, military, and communications to the empire until World War II.

The city was the capital of the Mali Federation from 1959 to 1960. It then became the capital of Senegal.

Education

Kedge Business School

Dakar Media

Dakar.Unefontainepublique
Dakar Entrepôt. c. 1900
From a 1905 Postcard.
Mural in Dakar commemorating the Thiaroye massacre. It reads "Thiaroye '44, an unforgettable event".
View of Dakar from the International Space Station in 2011
The Assemblée nationale on the Plateau, the heart of old Dakar
The Dakar Railway station
Deux Mamelles seen from afar, with the African Renaissance Monument on the left and Les Mamelles Lighthouse on the right
Dakar spiaggia;ragazzi che praticano sport.
N'dawrabine dance of Ngor