Mauritania

agricultural land:

38.5%;

• arable land 0.4%;
• permanent crops 0%;
• permanent pasture 38.1%

forest:

0.2%

other:

61.3% (2011 est.)

• 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

• 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

• 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

noun:

Mauritanian(s)

adjective:

Mauritanian

• 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

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:

0.82 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.74 male(s)/female

total population:

0.93 male(s)/female (2016 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 (2016)

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

etymology:

• named for the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania (3rd century B.C. to 1st century A.D.), which existed further north in present-day Morocco;
• the name derives from the Mauri (Moors), the Berber-speaking peoples of northwest Africa

name:

Nouakchott

geographic coordinates:

18 04 N, 15 58 W

time difference:

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

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Mauritania

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• President Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ (since 5 August 2009);
• note - AZIZ deposed President Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDELLAHI in a coup and installed himself as president in August 2008;
• he subsequently retired from the military, stepped down from the appropriated presidency in April 2009 to run for the legitimate presidency, and was elected president on 18 July 2009

head of government:

Prime Minister Yahya Ould HADEMINE (since 21 August 2014)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/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 21 June 2014 (next to be held by 2019);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

• Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ elected president;
• percent of vote - Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ (UPR) 81.9%, Biram Dah ABEID (independent) 8.7%, Boidiel Ould HOUMEIT (El Wiam) 4.5%, Ibrahima Moctar SARR (SJD/MR) 4.4%, other 0.5%

description:

bicameral Parliament or Barlamane consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats; 53 members indirectly elected by municipal leaders by simple majority vote and 3 directly elected by Mauritanians abroad; members serve a 6-year term with one-third of membership renewed every 2 years) and the National Assembly or Al Jamiya Al Wataniya (146 seats; 106 members directly elected in single- and two-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in two rounds if needed and 40 directly elected in constituencies with three or more seats by proportional representation vote; members serve a 5-year term)

elections:

• Senate - last held on 23 November 2013 (next election scheduled for 2015 but delayed because of opposition party threats to boycott election);
• National Assembly - first round last held on 23 November and second round on 21 December 2013 (next to be held in 2018)

election results:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - NA;
• National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - UPR 75, RNRD-TAWASSOUL 16, El Wiam 10, APP 7, El Karama Party 6, UDP 6, AJD/MR 4, Burst of Youth for the Nation 4, El Vadila Party 3, PRDR 3, PUD 3, Ravah Party 3, other 6;
• note - parties winning fewer than 3 seats sit as independents unless they join a coalition

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]
• Burst of Youth for the Nation [Lalla CHERIVA]
• Coalition for Pacific Alternation or CAP (coalition of opposition parties, including APP, El Wiam)
• Coalition of Majority Parties or CPM (including UPR, UDP)
• Coordination of Democratic Opposition or COD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH] (coalition including RNRD-TAWASSOUL)
• El Karama Party [Cheikhna Ould Mohamed Ould HAJBOU]
• El Vadila Party [Ethmane Ould Ahmed ABOULMAALY]
• El Wiam [Boidiel Ould HOUMEIT]
• National Rally for Reform and Development or RNRD-TAWASSOUL [Mohamed Jamil Ould MANSOUR]
• Party of Unity and Development or PUD [Mohamed BARO]
• Popular Progressive Alliance or APP [Messaoud Ould BOULKHEIR]
• Ravah Party
• Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal or PRDR [Sidi Mohamed Ould Mohamed VALL]
• Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
• Union for the Republic or UPR [Sidi Mohamed Ould MAHAM]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mohamedoun DADDAH (since 27 June 2016)

chancery:

2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 232-5700 through 5701

FAX:

[1] (202) 319-2623

chief of mission:

Ambassador Larry Edward ANDRE, Jr. (since 25 September 2014)

embassy:

288, rue 42-100 (rue Abdallaye), Nouakchott

mailing address:

B.P. 222, Nouakchott

telephone:

[222] 4525-2660 or [222] 2660-2663

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;
• green also represents hope for a bright future;
• the yellow color stands for the sands of the Sahara

name:

"Hymne National de la Republique Islamique de Mauritanie" (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania)

lyrics/music:

Baba Ould CHEIKH/traditional, arranged by Tolia NIKIPROWETZKY

note: adopted 1960; the unique rhythm of the Mauritanian anthem makes it particularly challenging to sing

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:

• fixed-line teledensity 1 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular network coverage extends mainly to urban areas with a teledensity of roughly 100 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 cables for Internet access (2015)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

1; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 4

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

248,158

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

total:

728 km

standard gauge:

728 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 99

total:

10,628 km

paved:

3,158 km

unpaved:

7,470 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 133

current situation:

• Mauritania is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to 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 boy students called talibes 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 domestically or transported to countries in the Middle East for the same purpose, sometimes through forced marriages

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;
• anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts were negligible;
• one slavery case identified by an NGO was investigated, but no prosecutions or convictions were made, including among the 4,000 child labor cases NGOs referred to the police;
• the 2007 anti-slavery law remains ineffective because it requires slaves, most of whom are illiterate, to file their own legal complaint, and the government agency that can submit claims on them did not file any in 2014;
• authorities arrested, prosecuted, and convicted several anti-slavery activists;
• NGOs continued to provide the majority of protective services to trafficking victims without support from the government;
• some steps were taken to raise public awareness about human trafficking (2015)