Mauritania

total:

1.35 cu km/yr (7%/2%/91%)

per capita:

420.2 cu m/yr (2005)

• 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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Mauritanian(s)

adjective:

Mauritanian

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:

0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.74 male(s)/female

total population:

0.93 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2013)

total number:

127,251

percentage:

16 % (2007 est.)

conventional long form:

Islamic Republic of Mauritania

conventional short form:

Mauritania

local long form:

Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah

local short form:

Muritaniyah

name:

Nouakchott

geographic coordinates:

18 04 N, 15 58 W

time difference:

UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

chief of state:

• President Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ (since 5 August 2009);
• note - AZIZ, who deposed democratically elected President Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDELLAHI in a coup and installed himself as President of the High State Council on 6 August 2008, retired from the military and stepped down from the presidency in April 2009 to run for president;
• he was elected president in an election held on 18 July 2009

head of government:

Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed LAGHDAF (since 14 August 2008)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held on 18 July 2009 (next to be held by 2014)

election results:

Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ elected president; percent of vote - Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ 52.6%, Messaoud Ould BOULKHEIR 16.3%, Ahmed Ould DADDAH 13.7%, other 17.4%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (subdivided into 1 criminal and 2 civil chambers, each with a president and 5 counselors);
• Constitutional Council (consists of 6 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, and 1 by the president of the Senate;
• members serve single, 9-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 3 years

subordinate courts:

• High Court of Justice (cases involving treason and criminal acts of high government officials);
• courts of appeal;
• wilaya (regional) courts (located at the headquarters of each of the 13 regions);
• commercial and labor courts;
• criminal courts;
• moughataa (district) courts;
• informal/customary courts

• Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal or AJD/MR [Ibrahima Moctar SARR]
• Alternative or El-Badil [Mohamed Yahdhi Ould MOCTAR HACEN]
• Coalition of Majority Parties or CPM (parties supporting the regime including PRDR, UPR, UDP, RD, HATEM-PMUC, UCD)
• Coalition for Pacific Alternation or CAP (coalition of opposition parties, including APP, El Wiam, and Sawab)
• Coordination of Democratic Opposition or COD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH] (coalition of 11 opposition political parties including RNRD-TAWASSOUL, RFD, UFP, PNDD-ADIL, Alternative or El-Badil)
• Democratic Renewal or RD [Moustapha Ould ABDEIDARRAHMANE]
• El Karama Party [Cheikhna Ould Mohamed Ould HAJBOU]
• El Vadila Party [Ethmane Ould Ahmed ABOULMAALY]
• El Wiam [Boidiel Ould HOUMEIT]
• Mauritanian Party for Unity and Change or HATEM-PMUC [Saleh Ould HANENA]
• National Pact for Democracy and Development or PNDD-ADIL [Yahya Ould Ahmed El WAGHEF] (independents formerly supporting President Abdellahi)
• National Rally for Freedom, Democracy and Equality or RNLDE
• National Rally for Reform and Development or RNRD-TAWASSOUL [Mohamed Jamil MANSOUR] (moderate Islamists)
• Party of Unity and Development or PUD [Mohamed BARO]
• Popular Progressive Alliance or APP [Messaoud Ould BOULKHEIR]
• Popular Front or FP [Mohamed Lemine Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE]
• Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]
• Ravah Party
• Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal or PRDR [Mintata Mint HIDEID]
• Sawab [Abdel Salem Ould HORMA]
• Socialist and Democratic Unity Party or PUDS [Mahfouz Weld AZIZ]
• Surge of Youth for the Nation [Lalla CHERIVA]
• Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
• Union for the Republic or UPR [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed LEMINE]
• Union of Democratic Center or UCD [Cheikh Sid'Ahmed Ould BABA]
• Union of the Forces for Progress or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mohamed Lemine El HAYCEN (since 28 July 2010)

chancery:

2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-5700 through 5701

FAX:

[1] (202) 319-2623

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires David REIMER

embassy:

288 Rue Abdallaye, Rue 42-100 (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott

mailing address:

BP 222, Nouakchott

telephone:

[222] 4525-2660 through 2663

FAX:

[222] 4525-1592

• 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;
• the gold color stands for the sands of the Sahara

agriculture:

50%

industry:

2%

services:

48% (2001 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.5%

highest 10%:

29.5% (2000)

general assessment:

• limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations;
• mobile-cellular services expanding rapidly

domestic:

• Mauritel, the national telecommunications company, was privatized in 2001 but remains the monopoly provider of fixed-line services;
• fixed-line teledensity 2 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular network coverage extends mainly to urban areas with a teledensity of roughly 106 per 100 persons;
• mostly cable and open-wire lines;
• a domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals

international:

• country code - 222;
• satellite earth stations - 3 (1 Intelsat - Atlantic Ocean, 2 Arabsat);
• fiber-optic and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) cables for Internet access (2009)

• one state-run TV (Television de Mauritanie) and one state-run radio network (Radio de Mauritanie);
• Television de Mauritanie has three channels, Al Mahadra station (for Islamic content) and Channels 1 and 2, which cover news, sports, and other programming;
• Radio de Mauritanie runs 12 regional stations as well as a radio station for youth and the Holy Quran station;
• five private TV channels and five private radio stations also broadcast from Mauritania;
• six private international radio stations broadcast in Mauritania on the FM band;
• with satellite connections, Mauritanians also have access to hundreds of foreign TV channels (2013)

total:

10,628 km

country comparison to the world: 133

paved:

3,158 km

unpaved:

7,470 km (2010)

males age 16-49:

718,713

females age 16-49:

804,622 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

480,042

females age 16-49:

581,473 (2010 est.)

male:

36,116

female:

36,826 (2010 est.)

current situation:

• Mauritania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to conditions of forced labor and sex trafficking;
• adults and children from traditional slave castes are subjected to slavery-related practices rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships;
• Mauritanian boys called talibe are trafficked within the country by religious teachers for forced begging;
• Mauritanian girls, as well as girls from Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, and other West African countries are forced into domestic servitude;
• Mauritanian women and girls are forced into prostitution in the country or transported to countries in the Middle East for the same purpose

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - Mauritania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• after the previous year's unprecedented progress in prosecuting and convicting trafficking offenders, the government has not convicted any traffickers;
• the government has not provided adequate protective services to victims or ensure their referral to NGOs, which provide the majority of care to trafficking victims and generally do not receive government financial support;
• the absence of measures in place to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations may have led to victims being punished for acts committed as a result of being trafficked;
• the effectiveness of the 2007 anti-slavery law remains impaired because the slaves, many of whom are illiterate, are first required to file a legal complaint, and the government provides no programs to assist victims in lodging slavery complaints (2013)