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NAVIGATION
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
conventional short form: Mauritania local short form: Muritaniyah local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Nouakchott |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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28 November 1960 (from France) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
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Constitution:
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12 July 1991 |
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Legal system:
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a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed KHOUNA (since 17 November 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held NA December 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected with 90.9% of the vote |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats, a part of the seats up for election every two years; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (81 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2002 (next to be held NA April 2004); National Assembly - last held 19 and 26 October 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRDS 54, RFD 1, UNDD 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - PRDS 79%, RDU 3.5%, UDP 3.5%, AC 5%, RDF 4%, UFP 3.5%, FP 1.5%; seats by party - PRDS 64, UDP 3, RDU 3, AC 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, and FP 1 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Alliance for Justice and Democracy or AJD [Kebe ABDOULAYE]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President 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 MAOULOUD]; Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]; Rally for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
note: the Action for Change party was banned in January 2002; parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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Arab nationalists; Ba'athists; General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general]; Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory Ould BEYE]; Islamists; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM, secretary general] |
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International organization participation:
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ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamedou Ould MICHEL
chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador John W. LIMBERT
embassy: Rue Abdallaye (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott mailing address: BP 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 25-26-60, 25-26-63, 25-11-41, 25-11-45 FAX: [222] 25-25-92 |
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Flag description:
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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 |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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Half 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 resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In February, 2000, Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in December 2001 received strong support from donor and lending countries at a triennial Consultative Group review. Mauritania withdrew its membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2000 and subsequently increased commercial ties with Arab Maghreb Union members Morocco and Tunisia, most notably in telecommunications. In 2001, exploratory oil wells in tracts 80 km offshore indicated potential viable extraction at current world oil prices. However, the refinery in Nouadhibou historically has not exceeded 20% of its distillation capacity, and it handled no crude in the year 2000. A new Investment Code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $5 billion (2001 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4% (2001 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2001 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 25%
industry: 29% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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50% (2001 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 30% (2000) (2000) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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37 (1995) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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4.4% (2001 est.) |
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Labor force:
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786,000 (2001) (2001) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 50%, services 40%, industry 10% (2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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21% (1999 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $421 million
expenditures: $378 million, including capital expenditures of $154 million |
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Industries:
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fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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2% (2000 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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154 million kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 84%
hydro: 16% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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143.22 million kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep |
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Exports:
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$359 million f.o.b. (2000) |
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Exports - commodities:
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iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
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Exports - partners:
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France 18%, Japan 16%, Italy 13%, Spain 10% (2000) |
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Imports:
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$335 million f.o.b. (2000) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
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Imports - partners:
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France 33%, US 10%, Spain 9%, Algeria 6%, Germany 6%, Benelux 5% (2000) |
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Debt - external:
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$1.6 billion (2000) (2000) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$220 million (2000) (2000) |
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Currency:
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ouguiya (MRO) |
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Currency code:
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MRO |
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Exchange rates:
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ouguiyas per US dollar - 254.350 (December 2001), 238.923 (2000), 209.514 (1999), 188.476 (1998), 151.853 (1997), 137.222 (1996) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |