[Village characteristics and population retention: the case of the Senegal River Valley]

This study is concerned with rural depopulation in Africa and the effectiveness of rural development efforts designed to decrease the outflow of population, using the example of the Senegal River Valley. "On the basis of the results of a study on population mobility of a hundred villages in the region, we analyse the relations between the characteristics of the villages and the retention of their populations. As well, a statistical analysis allows us to question certain assumptions about the capacity of development projects to slow down the population drain from the countryside." Data concern Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania. (SUMMARY IN ENG)