12 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 capital district*; Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh Ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott*, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza
According to the 1988 census, Mauritania had 1,864,236 inhabitants. The 2001 estimated population was 2,747,312, giving the country an overall population density of 3 persons per sq km (7 persons per sq mi).
The Moors constitute more than two-thirds of the population; about half of them are white, or bidan, Moors of Arab and Berber descent, and about half are black Moors, of Sudanic origin. Moorish society historically was divided into a hierarchy of castes. At the head of the socioeconomic structure were the noble castes, composed of 'arabs, or warriors, and Murabit (marabouts), or priests and scholars of the Qur'an. The warriors were usually Arab, and the marabouts were usually Berber. The mass of the bidan population were vassals who received protection from the warriors or marabouts in return for tribute. There were two artisan classes—the blacksmiths and the griots (who were at once musicians and genealogists). Servant classes were formed of black Moors and were subdivided into 'abid, or slaves, and hartani, or freedmen. Among the ethnic and racial groups, blacks became the better educated and held most technical, professional, and diplomatic posts at the time of independence. Members of this “servant” caste, which developed as the bureaucratic class, became increasingly aware of their rights as citizens. Slavery was abolished by the French before independence and was officially abolished again on July 5, 1980, but subsequent reports claimed that the practice had continued.
Stone Age cultures have been found in northern Mauritania. Berber nomads moved into the area in the 1st millennium ad and subjugated the indigenous black population. The newcomers belonged to the Sanhaja Confederation that long dominated trade between the northern parts of Africa and the kingdom of Ghana, the capital of which, Kumbi Saleh (Koumbi Saleh), was in southeastern Mauritania. Under Almoravid leadership, the Sanhaja razed Kumbi Saleh in 1076, although Ghana survived until the early 13th century. The Berbers, in turn, were conquered by Arabs in the 16th century. The descendants of the Arabs became the upper stratum of Mauritanian society, and Arabic gradually displaced Berber dialects as the language of the country. French forces, moving up the Sénégal River, made the area a French protectorate by 1905 and a colony in 1920. In 1946 Mauritania became an overseas territory of the French Union. Under French occupation, slavery was legally abolished.
Mauritania was first peopled by Negroes and by the Sanhadja Berbers. It was the cradle of the Berber Almoravid movement. The Almoravids imposed Islam upon all the neighbouring peoples. A caravan route at that time linked Mauritania with Morocco. Arab tribes infiltrated by this route and in the 15th century submerged the Berbers. The nomadic tribes formed several powerful confederations: Trarza and Brakna, which dominated the Sénégal River valley; Kunta in the east; and Rigaibat (Regeibat) in the north.
The Islamic Republic of Mauritania was proclaimed on November 28, 1958, under the constitution of the Fifth French Republic, and on November 28, 1960, it became fully independent. It joined the United Nations in 1961. That same year Moktar Ould Daddah was elected its first president; he was reelected in 1966, 1971, and 1976. Mauritania was severely affected by a drought in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nevertheless, its economy expanded as newly discovered iron and copper deposits were exploited. In 1976 it annexed the southern third of adjacent Spanish Sahara (see Western Sahara), which at that time was ceded by Spain; Morocco received the rest of the territory. A Saharan nationalist movement, the Polisario Front, seeking to make the Western Sahara an independent nation, weakened Mauritania with guerrilla warfare. In July 1978, President Daddah was ousted in a coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Ould Salek. After he was replaced by another army officer, Mohamed Ould Louly, Mauritania agreed, in August 1979, to withdraw from the Western Sahara.
Moorish society is proud of its Arab and Muslim heritage. Theology, poetry, and music flourish. Goldsmithing is a fine art. Kewri societies have a rich and varied folklore.
Mail, telephone, and telegraph services are combined in the main post offices. Fewer than 6,000 telephones are in use, and administrative contact is primarily through radiotelephone. International telephonic communications are run through Paris. The media are owned or controlled by the government. A national radio network broadcasts in the prevailing languages and in French. There are also two Earth satellite stations with telecasts in French and Arabic. A daily, Ach-chaab; a fortnightly, Journal Officiel; and a bimonthly, Le Peuple, are published in the two official languages. Movie theatres are found in the main urban centres, and cercles (social, sporting clubs) provide recreational opportunities in Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, and Rosso.
Two-fifths of the population is of mixed Moor and black African heritage. Another 30 percent of Mauritania’s people are Moors (of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry), many of whom lead nomadic existences. More than 90 percent of the population lives in the southern quarter of the country. About 30 percent of the people are black African farmers, who are settled in the Sénégal Valley.
Both land relief and drainage are influenced by the aridity that characterizes the greater part of the country. The impression of immensity given by the landscape is reinforced by its flatness; the coastal plains are lower than 150 feet (45 metres), while the higher plains of the interior vary from 600 to 750 feet. The interior plains form a plateau of which the culminating heights, occurring at different levels, form many tablelands joined to one another by very long, gentle slopes of about 2°. The topography is relieved by vestiges of cliffs (generally cuestas); by sloping plains that terminate at one end of the slope with a steep cliff or faulted scarp, which may reach heights of 900 feet; or by inselbergs (steep-sided residual hills), of which the highest is Mount Ijill at 3,002 feet (915 metres), an enormous block of hematite.
Upper Mauritania has little plant life and few animals. In the south, however, in a belt of steppe with trees of the genera Acacia and Commiphoa, lions and monkeys are found.
The Mauritanian economy is predominantly pastoral, with mining and fishing increasing in importance. Mauritania depends heavily on foreign aid. In 1999 the gross domestic product, which measures the total value of goods and services produced in the country, was $957,893,030, or $370 per inhabitant.
In the Sahel region of Mauritania a traditional subsistence economy is maintained, composed of livestock raising, agriculture, crafts, and petty trading. In the Sahara region, however, a modern economy is developing, based on the exploitation of iron-ore and copper resources and of the ichthyologically-rich continental shelf; the modern economy receives much needed capital investment and technical assistance from abroad. More than three-quarters of the Mauritanian population still lives by traditional activities, among which livestock raising is the most important. In numbers, goats and sheep are the most important livestock, followed by cattle, camels, donkeys, and horses. Cattle are raised primarily in the southern region, whereas goats and sheep are dispersed as far north as the limits of the Sahara. Camels are raised mostly in the north and the centre, especially in the Adrar region. The growth of the Mauritanian economy slowed in the 1980s after a lengthy period of rapid expansion in the 1960s and '70s. Agriculture and fishing account for almost one-third of the gross national product, with the industrial sector, including mining, contributing about one-quarter, public administration about 15 percent, and the remaining sectors about 30 percent.
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 half 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 the past, drought and economic mismanagement have resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In March 1999, the government signed an agreement with a joint World Bank-IMF mission on a $54 million enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF). Mauritania withdrew its membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2000. Privatization and debt relief are in full swing, and the rate of economic growth appears to be accelerating, especially in the construction, telecommunication, and information sectors. Diamonds and petroleum are beginning to be explored and exploited.
limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations (improvements being made)
domestic: mostly cable and open-wire lines; a recently completed domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals
international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 Arabsat
Islam, the state religion, is professed by nearly all of the people. Hasaniya Arabic (a Moorish dialect of Arabic) is the official language, and Fulfulde, Wolof, Soninke, and French are also widely spoken.
Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Assembly for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA]; Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concorde or PMRC [Molaye El Hassen Ould JIYID]; National Union for Democracy and Development or UNDD [Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality and Justice or PLEJ [Daouda M'BAGNIGA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progress Alliance or APP [Mohamed El Hafed Ould ISMAEL]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould MOLOUD]; Union for Progress and Democracy or UNDD [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
1961 constitution, promulgated soon after Mauritania became an independent republic, was suspended in 1978 following a coup d’état. Subsequently, legislative and executive power was vested in what became known as the Military Committee for National Salvation. The committee was headed by a chairman, who served as president of the country, and included 23 other permanent members in the late 1980s. A council of ministers, appointed by the committee, consisted of 22 members and included the prime minister. A new constitution approved by referendum in July 1991 declares Mauritania to be an “Islamic, African, and Arab republic.” The constitution provides for an executive president, elected for a six-year term, and for a bicameral legislature, consisting of a national assembly and a senate.
International organization Member
ABEDA, ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
The government of Mauritania attempts to provide free primary education. The effort, however, has been hindered by the nomadic character of the people. In 1996 some 83 percent of eligible children, or 312,700 pupils, attended primary school. Just 16 percent of secondary school-aged children were enrolled. Higher education is provided by the University of Nouakchott (1981) and by a college of public administration, also in the capital.
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 624,375 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 302,699 (2001 est.)
None
