Dakar Department

Dakar
Department

Location in the Dakar Region
Country  Senegal
Region Dakar Region
Capital Dakar
Area
  Total 79 km2 (31 sq mi)
Population (2013 census)
  Total 1,146,053
  Density 15,000/km2 (38,000/sq mi)
Time zone GMT (UTC+0)

Dakar Department is one of the departments of Senegal, located in the Dakar Region.

The department of Dakar is one of the four departments of the Dakar region, which is one of the 14 regions of Senegal. The Dakar region encompasses the city of Dakar and all its suburbs along the Cape Verde Peninsula. Its territory is thus roughly the same as the territory of the metropolitan area of Dakar. Since the administrative reforms of 1996, the regions of Senegal, which until then were merely local administrative structures of the central state, have been turned into full-fledged political units, with democratically elected regional councils, and regional presidents. They were given extensive powers, and manage economic development, transportation, or environmental protection issues at the regional level, thus coordinating the actions of the communes below them.

The department of Dakar is divided into four arrondissements: Almadies, Grand Dakar, Parcelles Assainies (which literally means "drained lots"; this is the most populous arrondissement of Dakar), and Plateau/Gorée (downtown Dakar). These arrondissements are quite different from the arrondissements of Paris, being merely local administrative structures of the central state, like the Senegalese departments, and are thus more comparable to French departmental arrondissements.

Map

In 1996, a massive reform of the administrative and political divisions of Senegal was voted by the Parliament of Senegal. The commune of Dakar, whose population approached 1 million inhabitants, was deemed too large and too populated to be properly managed by a central municipality, and so on August 30, 1996 Dakar was divided into 19 communes d'arrondissement.

These communes d'arrondissement were given extensive powers, and are very much like regular communes. They have more powers than the arrondissements of Paris, and are more akin to the London boroughs. The commune of Dakar was maintained above these 19 communes d'arrondissement, and it coordinates the activities of the communes d'arrondissement, much as Greater London coordinates the activities of the London boroughs.

The 19 communes d'arrondissement belong to either of the four arrondissements of Dakar, and the sous-préfet of each arrondissement is in charge of controlling the activities of the communes d'arrondissement in his arrondissement.

Dakar Department includes the commune d'arrondissement of Dakar-Plateau (34,626 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée, is the historical heart of the city, and most ministries and public administrations are located there. The densest and most populous commune d'arrondissement is Médina (136,697 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée. The smallest one is the commune d'arrondissement of Île de Gorée (1,034 inhabitants), in the arrondissement of Plateau/Gorée.

Table of Administrative Sub-divisions

Administrative Divisions of the Dakar Region
DépartementCommune Arrondissement Commune d'arrondissement Population (2013)
Department/ County / State CityBorough Neighborhood
Dakar Dakar Almadies Mermoz-Sacré-Cœur29,798
Almadies Ngor 17,383
Almadies Ouakam 74,692
Almadies Yoff 89,442
Dakar Plateau Fann-Point E-Amitié18,841
Dakar Plateau Gorée 1,680
Dakar PlateauGueule Tapée-Fass-Colobane 52,270
Dakar PlateauMédina 81,982
Dakar PlateauPlateau 34,713
Grand DakarBiscuiterie 68,547
Grand DakarDieuppeul-Derklé36,917
Grand DakarGrand Dakar 47,012
Grand DakarHann-Bel Air 67,962
Grand DakarHLM 39,126
Grand DakarSicap-Liberté 47,164
Parcelles AssainiesCambérène 52,420
Parcelles AssainiesGrand Yoff 185,503
Parcelles AssainiesParcelles Assainies159,498
Parcelles AssainiesPatte d'Oie 41,106

References

Coordinates: 14°27′N 17°12′W / 14.450°N 17.200°W / 14.450; -17.200

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