Skip to content
Medium confidence · transparency 2.0/5

How Many Americans Live in Senegal

Senegal keeps some of West Africa's better statistics, yet its census never names Americans. The one countable figure comes from UN records rather than from Dakar.

18.5M
Senegal's Population
The Point of Reference
847
Born in the US
ANSD · 2024
Born in the US, as a Share of Senegal
0.00%
847 ÷ 18,500,000

The American Emigration Revue counts US citizensPeople holding United States citizenship, as counted by Senegal's own official records. A separate population from US-born residents; the two are never added. Definitions ›, US-born residentsPeople born in the United States living in Senegal, whatever citizenship they hold today. A separate population from US citizens; the two are never added. Definitions ›, naturalizations and long-term permits from official government sources, with every figure cited. This page sets out what Senegal publishes, what it does not, and how far the published record can be trusted.

Every figure is shown with the year its source published it.
Dual citizenship
Recognized
Americans may keep their US passport
Years to naturalize
10 yrs
minimum residency requirement
01

Why Senegal's Records, Not Washington's

The Context

The context every page needs: who counts Americans abroad, and who doesn't.

The United States publishes no count of its own citizens abroad. Its best federal figure, 3.3 million Americans worldwide, is a statistical model built to size the overseas electorate, and the same model said 4.4 million two years earlier. The Census Bureau decided in 1976 to exclude private Americans abroad from the decennial enumeration (overseas federal employees and military are still counted). What Washington publishes instead is fragments: Social Security checks mailed to foreign addresses, tax returns claiming foreign income, quarterly lists of people who gave up their citizenship. See what each federal source actually counts ›

So this project counts from the receiving side. Every figure on this page comes from records Senegal itself publishes, read under the same rules applied to every country in the project. Where Senegal publishes, it is counted and cited. Where it does not, the gap is shown rather than filled: no estimates, no models. How openly each country reports ›

02

How Senegal Counts Americans

The One Count

One "US presence," one official count. The other measures on this page answer different questions.

US-Born Headline
847
US-born residents · ANSD 2024
03

What the Research Found

The Findings

Findings from the Senegal research, drawn from the official record.

Findings
by Daniel ATZ
UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024 provides the only confirmed quantitative data point for U.S. nationals in Senegal: 847 U.S.-born residents (421 male, 426 female), up steadily from 662 in 1990, 28% growth over 34 years.
No Senegalese official publication breaks down foreign residents at the U.S. level; national demographic publications report totals only.
The U.S. Embassy in Dakar operates American Citizen Services but publishes no estimate of U.S. residents.
What the Public Record Says
Data transparency2.0 out of 5 (medium confidence) — how much Senegal publishes about resident Americans, how often, and how easily the figures can be checked. Scored under How Far to Trust These Figures below.
04

The Figures as Data

The Evidence

Machine-readable copy of the figures on this page, each with the year its source published it. Free to download and reuse with attribution.

Key Figures as Data
Senegal · every figure with the year its source published it
FigureValueVintagePublisher
US-born residents8472024ANSD

Vintage is the year the publishing authority reported the figure. A dash means the year or publisher is not yet recorded in our dataset for that figure; the Sources and Datasets section below names every publisher behind this page.

05

How Far to Trust These Figures

The Publishing Record

What Senegal publishes, how often it publishes, and the sources behind every number on this page.

What We Know · What’s Missing
Medium confidence · transparency 2.0/5
Inflows
Permits
US-Born
Citizens
Naturalizations
published every yearone-off figurenot published

The gaps: Published as a regular series: US-born residents. Not published: resident US citizens, annual arrivals, naturalizations, residence or work permits: those gaps set the grade; they do not make the published figures wrong.

Sources & Datasets
4 publishing authorities

Every figure on this page comes from one of the publishers below. Links go to the authority and, where stable, straight to the dataset.

Ministère de l'IntérieurImmigration authority
06

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick Answers

Every answer is drawn from the official record, from the same sources cited across this page.

Does Senegal recognize dual citizenship with the United States?
Yes. Americans may keep their US passport when they naturalize in Senegal; the minimum residency requirement is 10 years.Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (ANSD)
Where do the figures for Americans in Senegal come from?
Every figure on this page comes from Senegal's own official publishers: Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (ANSD) and Direction Générale des Étrangers / Direction de la Police des Étrangers et des Titres de Voyage (Ministère de l'Intérieur). These are counts those bodies published themselves, not estimates or projections. Where Senegal publishes nothing, the page says so rather than filling the gap. Senegal's published record scores 2.0 out of 5 for transparency, which measures how much it publishes, how often, and how easily the figures can be checked.Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie (ANSD)
Explore nearby
Others in Western Africa
Edited by Daniel Atz, Founder and Editor in Chief.

The full series, every year, every country

The public view shows a limited year window for each series. Researchers and journalists can request access to the complete annual record for every country in the project.

Request Access →
© 2026, American Emigration Revue. Every figure from a named official source.