Mauritania

Location

• Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara
• Mauritania is considered part of both North Africa's Maghreb region and West Africa's Sahel region; most of the population is concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Nouakchott	1,184,530	Capital
Nouadhibou	146,048
Kiffa	62,051
Dar Naim	61,089
Néma	60,000
Mbera	58,985
Kaédi	56,283
Zouérat	55,183
Tevragh Zeina	48,093
Sélibaby	32,653

Size

• 397,953 square miles
• 1,030,700 square kilometers
• slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico; about six times the size of Florida

History

The Amazigh and Bafour people were among the earliest settlers in what is now Mauritania and among the first in recorded history to convert from a nomadic to agricultural lifestyle. These groups account for roughly one third of Mauritania’s ethnic makeup. The remainder of Mauritania’s ethnic groups derive from Sub-Saharan ethnic groups originating mainly from the Senegal River Valley, including descendants of former enslaved peoples. These three groups are organized according to a strict caste system with deep ethnic divides that impact access to resources and power dynamics.A former French colony, Mauritania achieved independence from France in 1960. Mauritania initially began as a single-party, authoritarian regime and experienced 49 years of dictatorships, flawed elections, failed attempts at democracy, and military coups. Ould Abdel AZIZ led the last coup in 2008, was elected president in 2009, and was reelected in 2014. Mohamed Ould Cheikh GHAZOUANI was elected president in 2019, and his inauguration marked the first peaceful transition of power from one democratically elected president to another, solidifying the country's status as an emerging democracy. International observers recognized the elections as relatively free and fair. GHAZOUANI is seeking re-election in June 2024 for a second, and final, five-year term. The country is working to address vestigial practices of slavery and its hereditary impacts. Mauritania officially abolished slavery in 1981, but the practice was not criminalized until 2007. Between 2005 and 2011, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) launched a series of attacks killing western tourists and aid workers, attacking diplomatic and government facilities, and ambushing Mauritanian soldiers and gendarmes. Although Mauritania has not seen an attack since 2011, AQIM and similar groups remain active in the Sahel region.  

Climate

desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty

Terrain

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

Languages

Arabic (official and national), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), Frenchmajor-language sample(s): كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.note: the spoken Arabic in Mauritania differs considerably from Modern Standard Arabic; the Mauritanian dialect, which incorporates many Tamazight words, is referred to as Hassaniya

Religions

Muslim (official) 100%

Government

presidential republic

• Constitution: history: previous 1964; latest adopted 12 July 1991amendment process: proposed by the president of the republic or by Parliament; consideration of amendments by Parliament requires approval of at least one third of the membership; a referendum is held only if the amendment is approved by two-thirds majority vote; passage by referendum requires simple majority vote by eligible voters; passage of amendments proposed by the president can bypass a referendum if approved by at least three-fifths majority vote by Parliament
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal System: mixed system of Islamic and French civil law
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President Mohamed Ould Cheikh el GHAZOUANI (since 1 August 2019)head of government: Prime Minister Moctar Ould DIAY (since 2 August 2024)cabinet: Council of Ministers nominees suggested by the prime minister, appointed by the presidentelection/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by the presidentmost recent election date: 29 June 2024election results: 2024: Mohamed Ould Cheikh el GHAZOUANI reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Mohamed Ould Cheikh el GHAZOUANI (UPR) 56.1%, Biram Dah Ould ABEID (independent) 22.1%, Hamadi Sidi el MOKHTAR independent) 12.8%, other 9.0%2019: Mohamed Ould Cheikh el GHAZOUANI elected president in first round; percent of vote - Mohamed Ould Cheikh el GHAZOUANI (UPR) 52%, Biram Dah Ould ABEID (independent) 18.6%, Sidi Mohamed Ould BOUBACAR (independent) 17.9%, other 11.5%expected date of next election: June 2029
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Suprême (subdivided into 7 chambers: 2 civil, 2 labor, 1 commercial, 1 administrative, and 1 criminal, each with a chamber president and 2 councilors); Constitutional Council (consists of 9 members); High Court of Justice (consists of 9 members)judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president appointed by the president of the republic to serve a 5-year renewable term; Constitutional Council members appointed - 3 by the president of the republic, 2 by the president of the National Assembly, 1 by the prime minister, 1 by the leader of the democratic opposition, 1 by the largest opposition party in the National Assembly, and 1 by the second largest party in the National Assembly; members serve single, 9-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 3 years; High Court of Justice members appointed by Parliament - 6 by the ruling Coalition of Majority Parties and 3 by opposition partiessubordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; courts of first instance, or wilya courts, are established in the regions' headquarters and include commercial and labor courts, criminal courts, Moughataa (district) Courts, and informal/customary courts
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Parliament (Barlamane)legislative structure: unicameralchamber name: National Assembly (Al Jamiya-Al-Wataniya)number of seats: 176 (all directly elected)electoral system: mixed systemscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 5 yearsmost recent election date: 5/13/2023 to 5/27/2023percentage of women in chamber: 23.3%expected date of next election: May 2028note: the early parliamentary elections in 2023 were the first to be held under President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El GHAZOUANI, elected in 2019 in the first peaceful transition of power; the elections followed the agreement between the government and parties in September 2022 to renew the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) and hold the elections in the first semester of 2023 for climatic and logistical reasons

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• lower middle-income West African economy; primarily agrarian; rising urbanization; poor property rights; systemic corruption; endemic social and workforce tensions; wide-scale terrorism; foreign over-fishing; environmentally fragile
• Budget: revenues: $1.617 billion (2019 est.)expenditures: $1.407 billion (2019 est.)
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish
• Industries: fish processing, oil production, mining (iron ore, gold, copper)note: gypsum deposits have never been exploited
• Agricultural Products: rice, milk, goat milk, sorghum, sheep milk, lamb/mutton, beef, camel meat, camel milk, dates (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 38.5% (2022 est.)arable land: 0.4% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 0% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 38.1% (2022 est.)forest: 0.3% (2022 est.)other: 61.2% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: refined petroleum, raw sugar, palm oil, wheat, soybean oil (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: China 19%, UAE 14%, Morocco 6%, Spain 6%, France 5% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: gold, iron ore, fish, processed crustaceans, copper ore (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: China 25%, Switzerland 14%, Canada 12%, UAE 9%, Spain 7% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports