*Mauritania, People
Population:
2,124,792 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
3.14% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
47.97 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
16.54 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
87 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
47.59 years
male:
44.81 years
female:
50.48 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
7.05 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Mauritanian(s)
adjective:
Mauritanian
Ethnic divisions:
mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30%
Religions:
Muslim 100%
Languages:
Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official)
Literacy:
age 10 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
34%
male:
47%
female:
21%
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)
*Mauritania, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
conventional short form:
Mauritania local long form:
Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
local short form:
Muritaniyah
Digraph:
MR
Type:
republic
Capital:
Nouakchott
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
Independence:
28 November 1960 (from France)
Constitution:
12 July 1991
Legal system:
three-tier system: Islamic (Shari'a) courts, special courts, state security
courts (in the process of being eliminated)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
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
Other political or pressure groups:
Mauritanian Workers Union (UTM)
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Elections:
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)
National Assembly:
last held 6 and 13 March 1992 (next to be held March 1997)
Executive branch:
president
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, Government
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)
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
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mohamed Fall OULD AININA
chancery:
2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 232-5700
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
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
*Mauritania, 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 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.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
3% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$555 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.2% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
20% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $280 million; expenditures $346 million, including capital
expenditures of $61 million (1989 est.)
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%
Imports:
$385 million (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities:
foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, capital goods
partners:
EC 60%, Algeria 15%, China 6%, US 3%
External debt:
$1.9 billion (1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate 4.4% (1988 est.); accounts for almost 33% of GDP
Electricity:
190,000 kW capacity; 135 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum
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
*Mauritania, Economy
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
Currency:
1 ouguiya (UM) = 5 khoums
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)
Fiscal year:
calendar year