MAURITANIA
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MAURITANIA
@Mauritania:Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
Senegal and Western Sahara
Map references: Africa
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MAURITANIA - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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NOUAKCHOTT 500,000 18.09N, 15.58W 222- GMT
Nouadhibou 22,000 20.54N, 17.01W 222- GMT
Kaedi 21,000 16.12N, 13.32W 222- GMT
Zouerate 17,000 22.44N, 12.21W 222- GMT
Rosso 16,000 16.30N, 15.49W 222- GMT
Atar 16,000 20.31N, 13.03W 222- GMT
Kiffa 11,000 16.38N, 11.28W 222- GMT
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Area:
total area: 1,030,700 sq km
land area: 1,030,400 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than three times the size of New
Mexico
Land boundaries: total 5,074 km, Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km,
Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km
Coastline: 754 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: boundary with Senegal in dispute
Climate: desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty
Terrain: mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills
Natural resources: iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate
Land use:
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 38%
forest and woodland: 5%
other: 56%
Irrigated land: 120 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion
aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very
limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal which is
the only perennial river
natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows
primarily in March and April; periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
Biodiversity, Desertification, Law of the Sea
Note: most of the population concentrated along the Senegal River in
the southern part of the country
@Mauritania:People
Population: 2,263,202 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (female 544,674; male 551,099)
15-64 years: 49% (female 574,282; male 542,762)
65 years and over: 3% (female 28,955; male 21,430) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.17% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 47.32 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 15.66 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 83.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 48.54 years
male: 45.66 years
female: 51.54 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.92 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian
Ethnic divisions: mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30%
Religions: Muslim 100%
Languages: Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof
(official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1988)
total population: 35%
male: 46%
female: 25%
Labor force: 465,000 (1981 est.); 45,000 wage earners (1980)
by occupation: agriculture 47%, services 29%, industry and commerce
14%, government 10%
@Mauritania:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
conventional short form: Mauritania
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
local short form: Muritaniyah
Digraph: MR
Type: republic
Capital: Nouakchott
Administrative divisions: 12 regions (regions, singular - region);
Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh ech
Chargui, Hodh el Gharbi, Inchiri, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza
note: there may be a new capital district of Nouakchott
Independence: 28 November 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Constitution: 12 July 1991
Legal system: three-tier system: Islamic (Shari'a) courts, special
courts, state security courts (in the process of being eliminated)
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government: President Col. Maaouya Ould
Sid'Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984); election last held NA January
1992 (next to be held NA January 1998); results - President Col.
Maaouya Ould Sid 'Ahmed TAYA elected
cabinet: Council of Ministers
Legislative branch: bicameral legislature
Senate (Majlis al-Shuyukh): elections last held 15 April 1994 (nex to
be held NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats (56
total, with 17 up for election every two years) PRDS 16, UFD/NE 1
National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani): elections last held 6 and 13
March 1992 (next to be held NA March 1997); results - percent of vote
by party NA; seats - (79 total) UFD/NE 67, PMR 1, RDU 1, independents
10
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: legalized by constitution passed 12
July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based; emerging
parties include Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS), led by
President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TAYA; Union of Democratic
Forces-New Era (UFD/NE), headed by Ahmed Ould DADDAH; Assembly for
Democracy and Unity (RDU), Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA; Popular Social and
Democratic Union (UPSD), Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH; Mauritanian Party
for Renewal (PMR), Hameida BOUCHRAYA; National Avant-Garde Party
(PAN), Khattry Ould JIDDOU; Mauritanian Party of the Democratic Center
(PCDM), Bamba Ould SIDI BADI
Other political or pressure groups: Mauritanian Workers Union (UTM)
Member of: ABEDA, ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU,
CAEU, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ismail Ould IYAHI (since 22 September
1994)
chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Dorothy Myers SAMPAS
embassy: address NA, Nouakchott
mailing address: B. P. 222, Nouakchott
telephone: [222] (2) 526-60, 526-63
FAX: [222] (2) 515-92
Flag: green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal
crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the crescent, star,
and color green are traditional symbols of Islam
Economy
Overview: A majority of the population still depends on agriculture
and livestock for a livelihood, even though most of the nomads and
many subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent
droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of
iron ore, which account for almost 50% of total exports. The decline
in world demand for this ore, however, has led to cutbacks in
production. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing
areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this
key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near
Nouakchott in 1986. In recent years, drought and economic
mismanagement have resulted in a substantial buildup of foreign debt.
The government has begun the second stage of an economic reform
program in consultation with the World Bank, the IMF, and major donor
countries. Short-term growth prospects are gloomy because of the heavy
debt service burden, rapid population growth, and vulnerability to
climatic conditions.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (1993
est.)
National product real growth rate: 5% (1993 est.)
National product per capita: $1,110 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $280 million
expenditures: $346 million, including capital expenditures of $61
million (1989 est.)
Exports: $401 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: iron ore, fish and fish products
partners: Japan 27%, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg
Imports: $378 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities: foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, capital
goods
partners: Algeria 15%, China 6%, US 3%, France, Germany, Spain, Italy
External debt: $1.9 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for almost 30% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 110,000 kW
production: 135 million kWh
consumption per capita: 61 kWh (1993)
Industries: fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum
Agriculture: accounts for 25% of GDP (including fishing); largely
subsistence farming and nomadic cattle and sheep herding except in
Senegal river valley; crops - dates, millet, sorghum, root crops; fish
products number-one export; large food deficit in years of drought
Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $168 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $490 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $277 million; Arab Development Bank
(1991), $20 million
Currency: 1 ouguiya (UM) = 5 khoums
Exchange rates: ouguiyas (UM) per US$1 - 125.910 (January 1995),
123.575 (1994), 120.806 (1993),87.027 (1992), 81.946 (1991), 80.609
(1990)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Mauritania:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 690 km (single track); note - owned and operated by government
mining company
standard gauge: 690 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways:
total: 7,525 km
paved: 1,685 km
unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, otherwise improved 1,040 km;
unimproved earth 4,800 km (roads, trails, tracks)
Inland waterways: mostly ferry traffic on the Senegal River
Ports: Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 28
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 2
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 6
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 10
@Mauritania:Communications
Telephone system: NA telephones; poor system of cable and open-wire
lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radio communications
stations (improvements being made)
local: NA
intercity: mostly cable and open wire lines
international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 ARABSAT earth
stations, with six planned
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 1
televisions: NA
@Mauritania:Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard,
National Police, Presidential Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 483,916; males fit for military
service 236,323
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $36 million, 2.7% of
GDP (1994)
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