1993 Edition

Area

total area: 1,030,700 km2 land area: 1,030,400 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico

Climate

desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty

Coastline

754 km

Environment

hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; desertification; only perennial river is the Senegal

International disputes

boundary with Senegal

Irrigated land

120 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 5,074 km, Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km

Land use

arable land: 1% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 38% forest and woodland: 5% other: 56%

Location

Northern Africa, along the North Atlantic Ocean, between Western Sahara and Senegal

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or the edge of continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate

Terrain

mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills

Birth rate

47.97 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

16.54 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30%

Infant mortality rate

87 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

465,000 (1981 est.); 45,000 wage earners (1980) by occupation: agriculture 47%, services 29%, industry and commerce 14%, government 10% note: 53% of population of working age (1985)

Languages

Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 47.59 years male: 44.81 years female: 50.48 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 10 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 34% male: 47% female: 21%

Nationality

noun: Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

2,124,792 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

3.14% (1993 est.)

Religions

Muslim 100%

Total fertility rate

7.05 children born/woman (1993 est.)

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

Capital

Nouakchott

Chief of State and Head of Government

President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)

Constitution

12 July 1991

Digraph

MR

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Fall OULD AININA chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 232-5700

Executive branch

president

FAX

[222] (2) 525-89

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

Independence

28 November 1960 (from France)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Legal system

courts (in the process of being eliminated)

three-tier system

Islamic (Shari'a) courts, special courts, state security

Legislative branch

bicameral legislature consists of an upper house or Senate (Majlis al-Shuyukh) and a lower house or National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani)

Mauritania local long form

Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah

Member of

ABEDA, ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, CEAO, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania conventional short form:

National Assembly

last held 6 and 13 March 1992 (next to be held March 1997)

National holiday

Independence Day, 28 November (1960)

Other political or pressure groups

Mauritanian Workers Union (UTM)

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

President

last held January 1992 (next to be held January 1998); results - President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid 'Ahmed TAYA elected

Senate

last held 3 and 10 April 1992 (one-third of the seats up for re-election in 1994)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon S. BROWN embassy: address NA, Nouakchott mailing address: B. P. 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] (2) 526-60 or 526-63

Agriculture

accounts for 50% 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

Budget

revenues $280 million; expenditures $346 million, including capital expenditures of $61 million (1989 est.)

Currency

1 ouguiya (UM) = 5 khoums

Economic aid

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

Electricity

190,000 kW capacity; 135 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

ouguiya (UM) per US$1 - 116.990 (February 1993), 87.082 (1992), 81.946 (1991), 80.609 (1990), 83.051 (1989), 75.261 (1988)

Exports

$447 million (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: iron ore, processed fish, small amounts of gum arabic and gypsum; unrecorded but numerically significant cattle exports to Senegal partners: EC 43%, Japan 27%, USSR 11%, Cote d'Ivoire 3%

External debt

$1.9 billion (1990)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$385 million (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, capital goods partners: EC 60%, Algeria 15%, China 6%, US 3%

Industrial production

growth rate 4.4% (1988 est.); accounts for almost 33% of GDP

Industries

fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6.2% (1991 est.)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion (1991 est.)

National product per capita

$555 (1991 est.)

National product real growth rate

3% (1991 est.)

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, the droughts, the endemic conflict with Senegal, rising energy costs, 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. But the reform process suffered a major setback following the Gulf war of early 1991. Because of Mauritania's support of SADDAM Husayn, bilateral aid from its two top donors, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, was suspended, and multilateral aid was reduced.

Unemployment rate

20% (1991 est.)

Airports

total: 29 usable: 29 with permanent-surface runways: 9 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 16

Highways

7,525 km total; 1,685 km paved; 1,040 km gravel, crushed stone, or otherwise improved; 4,800 km unimproved roads, trails, tracks

Inland waterways

mostly ferry traffic on the Senegal River

Merchant marine

1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,290 GRT/1,840 DWT

Ports

Nouadhibou, Nouakchott

Railroads

690 km 1.435-meter (standard) gauge, single track, owned and operated by government mining company

Telecommunications

poor system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radio communications stations (improvements being made); broadcast stations - 2 AM, no FM, 1 TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 2 ARABSAT, with six planned

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $40 million, 4.2% of GDP (1989)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 452,008; fit for military service 220,717 (1993 est.); conscription law not implemented