Louga (; Wolof: Luga) is a city in northwestern

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. Louga is a cattle market centre, and has road and rail links with the port city of Saint-Louis to the northwest and

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

to the southwest. The area surrounding Louga is at the northern limits of Senegal's peanut- (groundnut-) growing area and is inhabited by the Fulani, who are generally pastoral nomads, and the Wolof, who are sedentary farmers. Louga is located in what is called the Ndiambour, which used to be part of the

Cayor The Cayor Kingdom (; ) was from 1549 to 1876 the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Jolof Empire in what is now Senegal. The Cayor Kingdom was located in northern and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom ...

province. In 2013, according to official figures from the (ANSD), Louga had a population of 104,000 inhabitants.

Administration

Louga is both the capital of the Louga department and of the Louga region. The administrative region of Louga was formed in 1976, divided into 3 departments with 11 districts and 48 communities. There are 7 municipalities. Map of the departments of the Louga region of Senegal

Map of the departments of the Louga region of Senegal

The Louga region is made up of 3 departments: * Louga * Kebemer * Linguere

Geography

The closest towns are Dagadj, Bayakh, Taoua, Laye, Mbarom and Ngueye Dili. The capital of Senegal,

, is 203 km away. The climate is dry, almost desertlike, with a long dry season called the

harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into th ...

that can last 9 months or more. This season carries dust to Louga and occasionally causes sandstorms, promoting wind erosion and water loss by evaporation.

Population

The main ethnic groups are the Wolof, the Fula, the Toucouleur, and the Moors.

Economy

Agriculture is the main sector of Louga's economy. Fishing is practiced on the 50 km sea front in Potou.

Climate

Louga, with year-round hot weather, has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BWh''). Louga has a mildly rainy wet season from July to October, while the period from November to May has very little precipitation.

Transport

Louga is a junction station on the Dakar-Niger Railway network.

Sports

Stade Alboury Ndiaye, is a multi-use

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

. It is currently used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches and serves as a home ground of ASAC Ndiambour. The stadium holds 3,000 people.

Twin Towns

Millau Millau (; ) is a commune in Occitania, France. Located at the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers, the town is a subprefecture of the Aveyron department. Millau is known for its Viaduct, glove industry and several nearby natural ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Notable People Born in Louga

* Momar Gaye Diop, first mayor of Louga in 1956 * Mansour Bouna Ndiaye, former deputy mayor of Louga * Abdou Diouf, former president of Senegal (1981-2000) * Abass Sall * Sam Mbaye (1924-1998), son of Mame Cheikh Mbaye, Islamologist * Djily Mbaye (1927-1991), also son of Mame Cheikh Mbaye, marabout, patron, and builder of the major infrastructures of Louga * Badou Ndiaye, guitarist, former conductor of the Etoile de Dakar * Oustaz Cheikh Tidiane Gaye (1951-2011), Islamologist, Arabic-speaking writer and lecturer * Ahmadou Sakhir Lô (1903-1988), founder of the Islamic institute of Coki founded in 1939 * Khalifa Sall, former mayor of

Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye is a Senegalese politician. In 2012, she was appointed Minister of Livestock and Animal Production in the government of Prime Minister Abdou Mbaye and from 2014 under the government of Prime Minister Mahammad Boun Abdallah ...

, mayor of Louga from 2009 to 2014 * Moustapha Diop, current mayor of Louga since 2014 * Samba Khary Cissé, current president of the regional council * Chérif Thiam, painter * Haïdar El Ali, Minister of Ecology and Nature Protection * Mubarack Lô, economist and politician * Modou Mbery Sylla * Pope Momar Gaye, accountant * Oustaz Ahmad Moubarack LO, founder of Manar Al Houda

References

External links

Peace Corps Senegal, Louga Page
Regional capitals in Senegal Populated places in Louga region Communes of Senegal Senegal geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Senegal-geo-stub