Map of Mauritania | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background:


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Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 N, 12 00 W

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 1,030,700 km²
Land: 1,030,700 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico; about six times the size of Florida

Land boundaries
Total: 5,002 km
Border countries: (4) Algeria 460 km; Mali 2,236 km; Morocco 1,564 km; Senegal 742 km

Coastline: 754 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguouszone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty

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

Elevation
Highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m
Lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m
Mean elevation: 276 m

Natural resources: iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish

Land use
Agricultural land: 38.5% (2018 est.)
Forest: 0.2% (2018 est.)
Other: 61.3% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 450 km² (2012)

Major rivers
By length in km: Senegal river mouth (shared with Guinea [s], Senegal and Mali) - 1,641 km


Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 km²), Senegal (456,397 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 95.4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Industrial: 31.8 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Agricultural: 1.223 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 11.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind primarily in March and April; periodic droughts

Geography
Note: Mauritania is considered both a part of 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


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Population
Distribution: with most of the country being a desert, vast areas of the country, particularly in the central, northern, and eastern areas, are without sizeable population clusters; half the population lives in or around the coastal capital of Nouakchott; smaller clusters are found near the southern border with Mali and Senegal : 4,161,925 (2022 est.)
Growth rate: 1.99% (2022 est.)
Below poverty line: 31% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Mauritanian(s)
Adjective: Mauritanian

Ethnic groups: Black Moors (Haratines - Arabic-speaking descendants of African origin who are or were enslaved by White Moors) 40%, White Moors (of Arab-Berber descent, known as Beydane) 30%, Sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Halpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara ethnic groups) 30%

Languages: Arabic (official and national), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French; note - the spoken Arabic in Mauritania differs considerably from the Modern Standard Arabic used for official written purposes or in the media; the Mauritanian dialect, which incorporates many Berber words, is referred to as Hassaniya
Major language samples:

Religions: Muslim (official) 100%

Demographic profile: With a sustained total fertility rate of about 4 children per woman and almost 60% of the population under the age of 25, Mauritania's population is likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future. Mauritania's large youth cohort is vital to its development prospects, but available schooling does not adequately prepare students for the workplace. Girls continue to be underrepresented in the classroom, educational quality remains poor, and the dropout rate is high. The literacy rate is only about 50%, even though access to primary education has improved since the mid-2000s. Women's restricted access to education and discriminatory laws maintain gender inequality - worsened by early and forced marriages and female genital cutting.

Age structure
0-14 years: 37.56% (male 755,788/female 748,671)
15-24 years: 19.71% (male 387,140/female 402,462)
25-54 years: 33.91% (male 630,693/female 727,518)
55-64 years: 4.9% (male 88,888/female 107,201)
65 years and over: 3.92% (male 66,407/female 90,707) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 82.7
Youth dependency ratio: 76.8
Elderly dependency ratio: 6
Potential support ratio: 16.8 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 21 years
Male: 20.1 years
Female: 22 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.99% (2022 est.)

Birth rate: 28.06 births/1000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate: 7.43 deaths/1000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.72 migrant(s)/1000 population (2022 est.)

Population distribution: with most of the country being a desert, vast areas of the country, particularly in the central, northern, and eastern areas, are without sizeable population clusters; half the population lives in or around the coastal capital of Nouakchott; smaller clusters are found near the southern border with Mali and Senegal

Urbanization
Urban population: 57.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 3.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 1.492 million NOUAKCHOTT (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river; locust infestation
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 40.82 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 2.74 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 6.16 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.83 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 21.8 years (2019/21)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio: 766 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 50.99 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 56.89 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 44.91 deaths/1000 live births (2022 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 65.22 years
Male: 62.77 years
Female: 67.75 years (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.53 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 11.5% (2019/20)

Drinking water source
Improved:
Unimproved:

Current health expenditure: 3.3% of GDP (2019)

Physicians density: 0.19 physicians/1000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Improved:
Unimproved:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2021 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2020)
Food or water borne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vector borne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
Animalcontactdiseases: rabies
Respiratorydiseases: meningococcal meningitis
Note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Mauritania is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 12.7% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 10.7% (2020 est.)
Male: 19.3% (2020 est.)
Female: 2.1% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 19.2% (2018)

Education expenditures: 1.9% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 53.5%
Male: 63.7%
Female: 43.4% (2017)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 9 years
Male: 8 years
Female: 9 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 21.1%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 18.8%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 24.9% (2017 est.)


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Country name
Conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Conventional short form: Mauritania
Local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
Local short form: Muritaniyah
Etymology: named for the ancient kingdom of Mauretania (3rd century B.C. to 1st century A.D.) and the subsequent Roman province (1st-7th centuries A.D.), which existed further north in present-day Morocco; the name derives from the Mauri (Moors), the Berber-speaking peoples of northwest Africa

Government type: presidential republic

Capital
Name: Nouakchott
Geographic coordinates: 18 04 N, 15 58 W
Time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: may derive from the Berber "nawakshut" meaning "place of the winds"

Administrative divisions: 15 regions (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott Nord, Nouakchott Ouest, Nouakchott Sud, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza

Dependent areas

Independence: 28 November 1960 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1960)

Constitution
History: previous 1964; latest adopted 12 July 1991
Amendments: 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; amended 2006, 2012, 2017

Legal system: mixed legal system of Islamic and French civil law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descentonly: at least one parent must be a citizen of Mauritania
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Mohamed Ould Cheikh el GHAZOUANI (since 1 August 2019)
Head of government: Prime Minister Mohamed Ould BILAL (since 6 August 2020)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers - nominees suggested by the prime minister, appointed by the president
Elections and appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22 June 2019 (next to be held on 22 June 2024); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Parliament or Barlamane consists of the National Assembly or Al Jamiya Al Wataniya (157 seats statutory, 153 current term; 113 members in single- and multi-seat constituencies directly elected by a combination of plurality and proportional representation voting systems, 40 members in a single, nationwide constituency directly elected by proportional representation vote (20 seats are reserved for women candidates in the nationwide constituency) , and 4 members directly elected by the diaspora; all members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: first held as the unicameral National Assembly in 2 rounds on 1 and 15 September 2018 (next to be held in 2023)
Election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UPR 95, Tawassoul 14, UDP 6, El Karama 6, AND 4, PUCM 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, Shura Party for Development 3, Burst of Youth for the Nation 3, SAWAB 3, APP 3, DIL 2, El Wiam 2, AJD/MR 2, Coalition of Wava Mauritanian Party 1, El Ghad 1, National Democratic Union 1, Ravah Party 1, Party of Peace and Democratic Progress 1, El Islah 1; composition - men, 122, women 31, percent of women 20.3%
Note: a referendum held in August 2017 approved a constitutional amendment to change the Parliament structure from bicameral to unicameral by abolishing the Senate and creating Regional Councils for local development

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (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 parties
Subordinate 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

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal or AJD/MR [Ibrahima Moctar SARR]
Burst of Youth for the Nation or Sursaut or PSJN [Lalla Mint CHERIF]
El Insaf or Equity Party [Mohamed Melainine Ould EYIH]
El Islah Party [Mohamed Ould TALEBNA]
El Karama Party [Cheikhna Ould Mohamed Ould HAJBOU]
Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement or IRA [Biram Dah ABEID]
National Democratic Alliance or AND [Yacoub Ould MOINE]
National Rally for Reform and Development or RNRD or TAWASSOUL [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould SEYIDI]
Party for Conciliation and Prosperity or HIWAR [Valle Mint Mini]
Popular (or People's) Progressive Alliance or APP [Messaoud Ould BOULKHEIR]
Rally (or Assembly) of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]
Sawab Party [Ahmed Salem Ould HORMA]
Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
Union of the Forces of Progress or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]


International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MIUSMA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador BOIDE Cisse (since 15 September 2021)
In the us chancery: 2,129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 232-5,700
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 319-2,623
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Cynthia KIERSCHT (since 29 March 2021)
From the us embassy: Nouadhibou Road, Avenue Al Quds, NOT PRTZ, Nouakchott
From the us mailing address: 2,430 Nouakchott Place, Washington DC 20,521-2,430
From the us telephone: [222] 4,525-2,660
From the us FAX: [222] 4,525-1592
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: green with a yellow, five-pointed star between the horns of a yellow, upward-pointing crescent moon; red stripes along the top and bottom edges; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; green also represents hope for a bright future; the yellow color stands for the sands of the Sahara; red symbolizes the blood shed in the struggle for independence

National symbols: five-pointed star between the horns of a horizontal crescent moon; national colors: green, yellow

National anthem
Name: "Mauritania - Economy 2022

$23.17 billion (2020 est.)
$23.52 billion (2019 est.)
$22.2 billion (2018 est.)

3.5% (2017 est.)
1.8% (2016 est.)
0.4% (2015 est.)

$5,000 (2020 est.)
$5,200 (2019 est.)
$5,000 (2018 est.)

10.2% (2017 est.)
10.1% (2016 est.)

32.6 (2014 est.)
39 (2006 est.)

96.6% of GDP (2017 est.)
100% of GDP (2016 est.)

2.2% (2019 est.)
3.1% (2018 est.)
2.2% (2017 est.)

-$711 million (2017 est.)
-$707 million (2016 est.)

$2.52 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.06 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$302 million (2017 est.)

$3.68 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$3.28 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$319 million (2017 est.)

$875 million (31 December 2017 est.)
$849.3 million (31 December 2016 est.)

$4.15 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$3.899 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

ouguiyas (MRO) per US dollar
363.6 (2017 est.)
352.37 (2016 est.)
352.37 (2015 est.)
319.7 (2014 est.)
299.5 (2013 est.)

2.5% of GDP (2022 est.)
2.4% of GDP (2021 est.)
2.5% of GDP (2020 est.)
2.1% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $440 million)
2.3% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $430 million)