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 Mauritania



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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.) 201