Senegal is the westernmost country in mainland Africa, located along the Atlantic coast with Dakar as its capital, and it almost entirely surrounds the Gambia. After gaining independence from France in 1960, it has become one of the continent's most stable semi-presidential republics, with French as the official language, though Wolof (spoken by 80% of the population) serves as the de facto lingua franca among its predominantly Muslim population of 18 million. Historically, the region was part of the Ghana and Jolof empires, and during the Senegambian era (1300–1900), nearly one-third of the population was enslaved. As a developing nation classified as heavily indebted and ranked 169th on the Human Development Index, Senegal's economy relies on coastal agriculture, tourism, and mining. Culturally diverse, it blends ethnic groups like the Wolof, Fula, and Serer, and remains an active member of the UN, African Union, and ECOWAS—with its name possibly deriving from the Wolof phrase sunuu gaal, meaning "our canoe."