Official name Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Fr République Islamique de Mauritanie
Local names M?ritãniyã (Arabic), Mauritanie (French) Timezone GMT Area 1 029 920 km²/397 549 sq mi population total (2002e) 2 656 000 Status Islamic republic Date of independence 1960 Capital Nouakchott Languages Arabic (official), French and local languages also spoken Ethnic groups Moor (30%), Black (30%), mixed (40%) Religions Sunni Muslim (99%), Roman Catholic (1%) Physical features Saharan zone in N comprises two-thirds of the country; coastal zone has minimal rainfall; Sahelian zone, with savannah grasslands; Sénégal R zone, the chief agricultural region; highest point, Kediet Ijill, 915 m/3002 ft in the NW. Climate Dry, tropical climate, with sparse rainfall; average annual temperatures 22°C (Jan), 28°C (Jul) in Nouakchott; rainy season (MaySep) in S, with occasional tornadoes; average annual rainfall 158 mm/6·2 in. Currency 1 Ouguija (MRO) = 5 khoums Economy Subsistence agriculture (employs 80% of population); crop success constantly under threat from drought; livestock, cereals, vegetables, dates; crops and pasture ravaged by locust plague, 2004; mining of iron ore, copper, gypsum. GDP (2002e) $4·891 bn, per capita $1700 Human Development Index (2002) 0·438 History Visited by Portuguese, 15th-c; French protectorate within French West Africa, 1903; French colony, 1920; independence, 1960; military coup, 1979; new constitution, 1991; became a republic, 1992; bloodless military coup (Aug 2005); governed by an executive President (6-year term), Prime Minister, National Assembly, and Senate.|
الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية Al-Ğumhūriyyah al-Islāmiyyah al-Mūrītāniyyah République Islamique de Mauritanie Islamic Republic of Mauritania |
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Motto: شرف إخاء عدل (Arabic) "Honneur, Fraternité, Justice" (French) "Honor, Fraternity, Justice" |
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| Anthem: National Anthem of Mauritania | |||||
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Capital (largest city) |
Nouakchott 18°09′N 15°58′W |
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| Official languages |
Arabic (de jure) (also Hassaniya and French) |
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| Government | Military junta | ||||
| - President | Ely Ould Mohamed Vall | ||||
| - Prime Minister | Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar | ||||
| Independence | from France | ||||
| - Date | November 28, 1960 | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - Total |
1,030,700 km² (29th) 397,954 sq mi |
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| - Water (%) | 0.03 | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - 2005 estimate | 3,069,000 (135th) | ||||
| - 1988 census | 1,864,236 | ||||
| - Density |
3.0/km² (221st) 7.8/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate | ||||
| - Total | $7.159 billion (144th) | ||||
| - Per capita | $2,402 (132nd) | ||||
| HDI (2003) | 0.477 (low) (152nd) | ||||
| Currency | Ouguiya (MRO) | ||||
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0) | ||||
| - Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+0) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .mr | ||||
| Calling code | +222 | ||||
Mauritania (Arabic: موريتانية Mūrītāniyyah), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa.
History
From the 5th to 7th centuries, the migration of Berber tribes from North Africa displaced the Bafours, the original inhabitants of present-day Mauritania and the ancestors of the Soninke.
Politics
Politics in Mauritania have always been determined by personalities and tribes more than ideologies, with any leader's ability to exercise political power dependent upon control over resources;
Mauritania, along with Morocco, illegally annexed the territory of Western Sahara in 1976, with Mauritania taking the lower one-third.
The discovery of oil in 2001 in the offshore Chinguetti deposit will be a test for the current government since, according to human rights activists, it can be a blessing for one of the poorest countries in the world as well as a curse bringing corruption and violence to the country.
Moktar Ould Daddah
After independence, President Moktar Ould Daddah, originally installed by the French, formalized Mauritania into a one-party state in 1964 with a new constitution, which set up an authoritarian presidential regime.
Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya's rule (1984-2005)
The Parti Républicain Démocratique et Social (PRDS), formerly led by President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, dominated Mauritanian politics following the country's first multi-party elections in April 1992 following the approval by referendum of the current constitution in July 1991. President Taya, who won elections in 1992 and 1997, first became chief of state through a December 12, 1984 bloodless coup which made him chairman of the committee of military officers that governed Mauritania from July 1978 to April 1992.
Political parties, illegal during the military period, were legalized again in 1991.
Mauritania's presidential election, its third since adopting the democratic process in 1992, took place on November 7, 2003.
Sid'Ahmed Taya recognized Israel (see Foreign relations of Mauritania), which made Mauritania the only Arab country not neighbouring Israel which recognized the latter (Morocco and Qatar have official ties with Israel, but do not fully recognize it).
A group of current and former Army officers launched a bloody but unsuccessful coup attempt on June 8, 2003.
August 2005 military coup
In August 2005, a military coup led by Col.
On August 3, the Mauritanian military, including members of the presidential guard, seized control of key points in the capital of Nouakchott. The officers, calling themselves the Military Council for Justice and Democracy, released the following statement:
The national armed forces and security forces have unanimously decided to put a definitive end to the oppressive activities of the defunct authority, which our people have suffered from during the past years. (BBC)The Military Council later issued another statement naming as president Col.
Applauded by the Mauritanian people, but cautiously watched by the international community, the coup has since been generally accepted, while the military junta has promised to organize elections within two years.
Israel's recognition by the Islamic Republic of Mauritania was maintained by the new regime.
Dispute with Woodside Petroleum
In February 2006, the Mauritanian government denounced amendments to an oil contract made by former leader Maaouiya Ould Taya with Woodside Petroleum, an Australian company. The controversial amendments, which Mauritanian authorities declared had been signed "outside the legal framework of normal practice, to the great detriment of our country", could cost Mauritania up to $200 million a year, according to BBC News.
The disputed amendments were signed by former oil minister Zeidane Ould Hmeida in February 2004 and March 2005.
Nouakchott's authorities declared that the government would likely seek international arbitration, which Woodside (which operated for Hardman, BG Group, Premier, ROC Oil, Fusion, Petronas, Dana Petroleum, Energy Africa and the Hydrocarbons Mauritanian Society) also contemplated.
The Australian Federal Police are currently investigating Woodside for allegations of bribery and corruption in Mauritania according to the Sydney Morning Herald to view click on the following links http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/police-start-woodside-probe-over-bribery-claim/2006/10/12/1160246263011.html http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/slick-operator/2006/06/02/1148956541283.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
Administrative Divisions
Main articles: Regions of Mauritania, Departments of Mauritania
Mauritania is divided into 12 regions (régions) and 1 capital district, and subdivided into 44 departments (départements).
The regions include (capitals in parentheses):
Adrar (Atar) Assaba (Kifa) Brakna (Aleg) Dakhlet Nouadhibou (Nouadhibou) Gorgol (Kaédi) Guidimaka (Sélibaby) Hodh Ech Chargui (Néma) Hodh El Gharbi (Ayoun el Atrous) Inchiri (Akjoujt) Tagant (Tidjikdja) Tiris Zemmour (F'dérik) Trarza (Rosso) Nouakchott (capital district)Departments: see Departments of Mauritania
Geography
At 397,929 mi² (1,030,700 km²), Mauritania is the world's 29th-largest country (after Bolivia).
Mauritania is generally flat, its 1,030,700 square kilometers (397,850 sq mi) forming vast, arid plains broken by occasional ridges and clifflike outcroppings.
Economy
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.
Demographics
Population: 3,177,388 (July 2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 53.12 years (2006 est.)
Ethnic groups: mixed Maure/black 40%, Maure 30%, black 30%
Religions: Muslim 100%
Languages: Arabic (official and national) the actual Arab dialect spoken is Hassaniya, Pulaar (national), Soninke (national), Wolof (national), French.
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