before continuing illegally onward to Europe. The country also has been host to several thousand black Mauritanian refugees since they were expelled from Mauritania during the 1989 border conflict with Senegal. The country's economic crisis in the 1970s stimulated emigration; departures accelerated from the 1990s. Destinations shifted from neighboring countries to Libya and Mauritania, because of their booming oil industries, and to France, Italy and Spain. See also Senegal References External links Society of Senegal pt:Senegal#Demografia