town, northwestern Senegal. Louga is a cattle market centre and has road and rail links with the port city of Saint-Louis to the northwest and Dakar 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 (Fulbe), who are generally pastoral nomads, and the Wolof, who are sedentary farmers. Louga is the birthplace of Abdou Diouf (Diouf, Abdou), president of Senegal from 1981 to 2000. Pop. (2004 est.) 77,774.