I | INTRODUCTION |
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of
Mauritania, country in northwestern Africa. It is bounded on the north by
Western Sahara and Algeria, on the east by Mali, on the south by Mali and
Senegal, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The country has a total area of
1,031,000 sq km (398,000 sq mi).
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
With the exception of a narrow strip in the
south along the Sénégal River, the country lies entirely within the Sahara. The
elevation varies from 150 m (500 ft) in the southwest to 460 m (1,500 ft) in the
northeast. Daytime temperatures in much of the country reach 38°C (100°F) for
more than six months of the year, but the nights are cool. Annual rainfall
varies from less than 130 mm (less than 5 in) in the north to 660 mm (26 in) in
the Sénégal Valley.
A | Natural Resources |
Mauritania contains large deposits of iron
ore in the Fdérik area. Other mineral resources of the country include deposits
of phosphates, sulfur, copper, and gypsum. Significant offshore reserves of oil
and natural gas were discovered in the early 21st century.
B | Plants and Animals |
Upper Mauritania has little plant life and
few animals. In the south, however, in a belt of steppe with trees of the genera
Acacia and Commiphoa, lions and monkeys are found.
C | Environmental Issues |
Eighty percent of Mauritania lies within
the Sahara, and years of drought combined with overgrazing and deforestation
have increased the country’s risk of desertification. Agricultural production
has been maintained in the face of water shortages (primarily through
groundwater mining), although high population growth has meant that per capita
production has declined significantly. A project to dam the Sénégal River would
increase and regulate water availability, but some ecosystems would inevitably
be adversely affected.
III | POPULATION |
Two-fifths of the population is of mixed Moor
and black African heritage. Another 30 percent of Mauritania’s people are Moors
(of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry), many of whom lead nomadic existences. More
than 90 percent of the population lives in the southern quarter of the country.
About 30 percent of the people are black African farmers, who are settled in the
Sénégal Valley.
A | Population Characteristics |
According to the 1988 census, Mauritania
had 1,864,236 inhabitants. The 2008 estimated population was 3,364,940, giving
the country an overall population density of 3 persons per sq km (9 persons per
sq mi).
B | Political Divisions and Principal Cities |
Mauritania is divided into 12 regions, each
administered by a council, and 1 district, which encompasses the country’s
capital and largest city, Nouakchott (population, 2003 estimate, 600,000). Other
principal towns are Kaédi (34,227), a farming center on the Sénégal, Nouadhibou
(72,337), a fishing center and seaport, the exports of which include iron ore
sent by rail from Fdérik, and Rosso (48,922).
C | Religion and Language |
Islam, the state religion, is professed by
nearly all of the people. Hasaniya Arabic (a Moorish dialect of Arabic) is the
official language, and Fulfulde, Wolof, Soninke, and French are also widely
spoken.
D | Education |
The government of Mauritania attempts to
provide free primary education. The effort, however, has been hindered by the
nomadic character of the people. In 2002–2003 some 88 percent of eligible
children, or 360,700 pupils, attended primary school. Just 23 percent of
secondary school-aged children were enrolled. Higher education is provided by
the University of Nouakchott (1981) and by a college of public administration,
also in the capital.
IV | ECONOMY |
The Mauritanian economy is predominantly
pastoral, with mining and fishing increasing in importance. Mauritania has
depended heavily on foreign aid. However, the country has offshore reserves of
oil and natural gas that may bring a more prosperous future. In 2006 the gross
domestic product (GDP), which measures the total value of goods and services
produced in the country, was $2,662,577,900, or $874.80 per inhabitant.
A | Agriculture |
Animal raising is the most important
agricultural activity. Livestock in Mauritania in 2005 was estimated to include
8.8 million sheep, 5.6 million goats, 1.7 million cattle, and 4.2 million
poultry. Crop farming is mostly restricted to the south. The leading crops are
millet, pulses, rice, dates, watermelons, yams, and maize.
B | Fishing |
Mauritania has a large saltwater fishing
potential, and the government has taken measures to protect its offshore fishing
areas. In 2005 the country’s catch was 247,577 metric tons.
C | Mining |
Production of iron ore, mainly from
Mauritania’s rich deposits in the Fdérik area, totaled 6.9 million metric tons
in 2004. Copper mining, once an important industry, was discontinued in 1978.
Reserves of oil and natural gas were discovered in 2001 and 2005. The offshore
fields are expected to yield hundreds of millions of barrels of oil once they
are fully exploited.
D | Currency and Foreign Trade |
The monetary unit in Mauritania is the
ouguiya, which is divided into five khoums (266 ouguiyas equal
U.S.$1; 2005 average). The Central Bank of Mauritania (founded in 1973) is the
bank of issue.
In 2000 exports totaled $499 million.
Imports amounted to $294 million. Iron ore is the principal export; imports
typically consist of food products, machinery, construction materials,
petroleum, and consumer goods. Leading purchasers of exports are Japan, France,
Italy, and Belgium and Luxembourg (which operate together as a single trading
unit). Chief sources for imports are France, Algeria, Spain, China, and the
United States. Mauritania also exports cattle to Senegal.
E | Transportation and Communications |
Transportation facilities include air
routes and 7,660 km (4,760 mi) of roads and tracks. The 1,100-km
Trans-Mauritanian highway was completed in 1985. A 670-km (416-mi) railroad
links Nouadhibou to the Fdérik ore fields. Deep-water port facilities and
international airports are located at Nouadhibou and Nouakchott. The country has
3 daily newspapers; the Chaab is published in French and Arabic in
Nouakchott.
F | Manufacturing and Energy |
Manufacturing accounts for only 5 percent
of Mauritania’s economic base and is limited primarily to fish processing and
the production of other foodstuffs. In 2003 the country generated 185.6 million
kilowatt-hours of electricity, 78.45 percent of which was produced in thermal
facilities.
V | GOVERNMENT |
A 1961 constitution, promulgated soon after
Mauritania became an independent republic, was suspended in 1978 following a
coup d’état. Subsequently, legislative and executive power was vested in what
became known as the Military Committee for National Salvation. The committee was
headed by a chairman, who served as president of the country, and included 23
other permanent members in the late 1980s. A council of ministers, appointed by
the committee, consisted of 22 members and included the prime minister. A new
constitution was approved by referendum in July 1991. All citizens aged 18 and
older may vote.
A | Executive and Legislature |
The 1991 constitution provides for an
executive president, who is limited to two five-year terms under constitutional
amendments approved by voters in 2006. The president appoints a prime minister
to head the government. Mauritania has a legislature with two chambers, the
National Assembly and the Senate. The 95 members of the National Assembly are
directly elected to serve five-year terms, and the 56 members of the Senate are
indirectly elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms.
B | Judiciary |
The highest court of appeal is the Supreme
Court, which sits in Nouakchott. The High Court of Justice, whose members are
elected by the parliament, adjudicates cases involving the executive branch of
government. Islamic law plays an important role in the Mauritanian judicial
system. The High Council of Islam advises the president on matters of religion
and law. The Constitutional Council, established in 1992, rules on all matters
relating to the constitution.
C | Defense |
In 2004 Mauritania had an army of 15,000
persons, a navy of 620, and an air force of 250.
VI | HISTORY |
Remnants of Stone Age cultures have been
found in northern Mauritania. Berber nomads moved into the area in the 1st
millennium ad and subjugated the
indigenous black population. The newcomers belonged to the Sanhaja Confederation
that long dominated trade between the northern parts of Africa and the kingdom
of Ghana, the capital of which, Kumbi Saleh (Koumbi Saleh), was in southeastern
Mauritania. Under Almoravid leadership, the Sanhaja razed Kumbi Saleh in 1076,
although Ghana survived until the early 13th century. The Berbers, in turn, were
conquered by Arabs in the 16th century. The descendants of the Arabs became the
upper stratum of Mauritanian society, and Arabic gradually displaced Berber
dialects as the language of the country. French forces, moving up the Sénégal
River, made the area a French protectorate by 1905 and a colony in 1920. In 1946
Mauritania became an overseas territory of the French Union. Under French
occupation, slavery was legally abolished.
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania was
proclaimed on November 28, 1958, under the constitution of the Fifth French
Republic, and on November 28, 1960, it became fully independent. It joined the
United Nations in 1961. That same year Moktar Ould Daddah was elected its first
president; he was reelected in 1966, 1971, and 1976.
Mauritania was severely affected by a
drought in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nevertheless, its economy expanded as
newly discovered iron and copper deposits were exploited. In 1976 it annexed the
southern third of adjacent Spanish Sahara (see Western Sahara), which at
that time was ceded by Spain; Morocco received the rest of the territory. A
Saharan nationalist movement, the Polisario Front, seeking to make the Western
Sahara an independent nation, weakened Mauritania with guerrilla warfare. In
July 1978, President Daddah was ousted in a coup led by Lieutenant Colonel
Mustafa Ould Salek. After he was replaced by another army officer, Mohamed Ould
Louly, Mauritania agreed, in August 1979, to withdraw from the Western
Sahara.
Another change of leadership occurred in
1980, when the prime minister, Mohamed Ould Haidalla, assumed the presidency. He
subjected the nation to strict enforcement of Islamic law. Haidalla survived a
coup in 1981 but was deposed by his chief of staff, Colonel Maaouya Ould Sidi
Ahmed Taya, in 1984.
A | Taya’s Years in Power |
Tensions with Senegal in 1989 resulted in
the repatriation of 100,000 Mauritanian nationals from Senegal and the
repatriation or expulsion of 125,000 Senegalese nationals from Mauritania. Faced
with rising domestic pressures and international criticism of his human rights
record, Taya implemented a new constitution and legalized opposition parties in
1991. He was elected executive president in 1992. Opposition parties claimed the
vote was rigged, charges that were repeated when Taya was reelected in
1997.
Starting in the mid-1990s, Taya sought to
limit the influence of Islamist groups in Mauritania and improve relations with
Israel and Western powers. Mauritania established full diplomatic relations with
Israel in 1999, becoming one of only a few Arab states to do so. The 2003
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (see U.S.-Iraq War) sparked widespread protests
and popular unrest in Mauritania. The government responded by cracking down on
pro-Iraqi and Islamist political groups. Taya survived a coup attempt in June
2003 and was reelected in a disputed election in November.
B | Military Coup |
A military coup in August 2005 ousted Taya
while he was out of the country attending the funeral of Saudi Arabia’s King
Fahd. Many Mauritanians welcomed the coup, which ended Taya’s repressive regime
of 21 years. The Military Council for Justice and Democracy declared it would
rule the country for a two-year transition period but promised to relinquish
power following democratic elections. The leader of the coup and president of
the military council, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, had been the head of
national security. Analysts said Taya had alienated many Islamic leaders in the
country by establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and dealing harshly
with his political opponents. Former president Mohamed Ould Haidalla, who had
ruled Mauritania by strict Islamic law, was among 200 people who were put on
trial in early 2005 for allegedly fomenting coup attempts against Taya.
C | Democratic Elections |
In June 2006 Mauritania held a referendum
on amendments to the 1991 constitution. Mauritanians voted overwhelmingly to
limit the president’s mandate to two five-year terms. (The constitution had
allowed the president to serve an indefinite number of six-year terms.)
Mauritania held its first fully democratic
elections since independence with voting in November and December 2006 for a new
National Assembly. No single party or coalition won an absolute majority in the
elections. The Coalition of Forces for Democratic Change, comprising the Rally
of Democratic Forces and other parties that had formerly opposed Taya, won 41 of
the 95 seats. Independent candidates won 39 seats, the Renewed Republican
Democratic Party (formerly Taya’s ruling Democratic and Social Republican Party)
won 7, and smaller parties won the remainder. Many Islamist candidates stood as
independents because Islamist parties and movements were banned. Members of the
military junta were also banned from contesting the elections.
Presidential elections followed in March
2007, as the final phase in the transition to civilian and democratic rule. The
independent candidate, Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, won the runoff
election with 53 percent of the vote against Ahmed Ould Daddah, leader of the
Rally of Democratic Forces. Abdallahi, a former minister in Taya’s government,
was considered the favorite candidate of the military. An election observation
mission of the European Union (EU) determined that Mauritania’s historic
elections were free and fair.
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