Mauritania
_Mauritania.jpg)
See regional map VII
Geography
Total area: 1,030,700 km²; land area:
1,030,400 km²
Comparative area: slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico
Land boundaries: 5,074 km total; Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km
Coastline: 754 km
Maritime claims:
- Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
- Extended economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: armed conflict in Western Sahara; boundary with Senegal
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: 1% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 38% meadows and pastures; 5% forest and woodland; 56% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; desertification; only perennial river is the Senegal
People
Population: 1,934,549 (July 1990), growth
rate 3.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 49 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 96 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 44 years male, 49 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 7.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Mauritanian(s); adjective—Mauritanian
Ethnic divisions: 40% mixed Maur/black, 30% Maur, 30% black
Religion: nearly 100% Muslim
Language: Hasaniya Arabic (national); French (official); Toucouleur, Fula, Sarakole, Wolof
Literacy: 17%
Labor force: 465,000 (1981 est.); 45,000 wage earners (1980); 47% agriculture, 29% services, 14% industry and commerce, 10% government; 53% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: 30,000 members claimed by single union, Mauritanian Workers' Union
Government
Long-form name: Islamic Republic of
Mauritania
Type: republic; military first seized power in bloodless coup 10 July 1978; a palace coup that took place on 24 December 1984 brought President Taya to power
Capital: Nouakchott
Administrative divisions: 12 regions (régions, singular—région); Adrar, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, El ’Açâba, 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)
Constitution: 20 May 1961, abrogated after coup of 10 July 1978; provisional constitution published 17 December 1980 but abandoned in 1981; new constitutional charter published 27 February 1985
Legal system: based on Islamic law
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Executive branch: president, Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN), Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), dissolved after 10 July 1978 coup; legislative power resides with the CMSN
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Suprême)
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—President Col. Maaouiya Ould Sid‘Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)
Political parties and leaders: suspended
Suffrage: none
Elections: none; last presidential election August 1976; National Assembly dissolved 10 July 1978; no national elections are scheduled
Communists: no Communist party, but there is a scattering of Maoist sympathizers
Member of: ACP, AfDB, AIOEC, Arab League, CCC, CEAO, CIPEC (associate), EAMA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OMVS (Organization for the Development of the Senegal River Valley), UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Abdellah OULD DADDAH; Chancery at 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-5700; US—Ambassador William H. TWADDELL; Embassy at address NA, Nouakchott (mailing address is B. P. 222, Nouakchott); telephone [2222] 52660 or 52663
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
drought in 1983. Mauritania has extensive
deposits of iron ore that account for
almost 50% of total exports. The decline in
world demand for this ore, however, has
led to cutbacks in production in recent
years. 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.
GDP: $1.0 billion, per capita $520; real growth rate 3.6% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.4% (1988 est.)
Unemployment rate: 50% (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $358 million; expenditures $334 million, including capital expenditures of $79 million (1988 est.)
Exports: $424 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—iron ore, processed fish, small amounts of gum arabic and gypsum, unrecorded but numerically significant cattle exports to Senegal; partners—EC 57%, Japan 39%, Ivory Coast 2%
Imports: $365 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities—foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, capital goods; partners—EC 79%, Africa 5%, US 4%, Japan 2% External debt: $2.3 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 4.4% (1988 est.)
