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___ Mauritania

keywords: Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Mauritania information, best of Mauritania, Mauritania newspapers, tourist information for Mauritania, Mauritania tourism, Mauritania map, Mauritania internet resources
  

Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Country Profile


Mauritania Flag
Flag of Mauritania

Background:
Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Opposition parties were legalized and a new constitution approved in 1991.
Two multiparty presidential elections since then were widely seen as being flawed; Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state.
The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black minority population and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber) populace. .
(Source: CIA - The World Factbook)

Mauritania is a member state of the League of Arab States
border countries: Algeria, Mali, Senegal, Western Sahara
related countries: France
 
 where in Africa is Mauritania?

Official Name:
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
conventional short form: Mauritania
short form: Muritaniyah
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah

ISO Country Code: mr
Actual Time: Sat-July-4  03:01
Local Time = No UTC no GMT offset

Capital City: Nouakchott (pop. 800,000)

Other Cities:
Nouadhibou (113,000), Selibaby (107,000), Kaedi (91,000), Kiffa (77,000), Rosso (63,000), Zouerate (36,000).

Government:
Type: Republic.
Independence: November 28, 1960 (from Fance).
Constitution: Approved 1991. Military rule 1978-1992. Original constitution promulgated 1961.

Geography:
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara.
Area: 1,030,070 sq. km. (419,212 sq. mi.)
Terrain: Northern four-fifths barren desert; southern 20% mainly Sahelian with small scale irrigated and rainfed agriculture in the Senegal River basin.

Climate: Predominantly hot and dry.

People:
Nationality: Mauritanian(s).
Population: 2.5 million.
Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber (White Moor or Beydane), Arab-Berber-Negroid (Black Moor or Haritine), Haalpulaar, Soninke, Wolof.
Religion: Islam.
Languages: Arabic (official), French, Pulaar, Wolof, and Soninke. Literacy: 42%.

Natural resources: Fish, copper, iron ore, gypsum.
Agriculture products: Dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, cattle, sheep.

Industries: Fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum.

Exports partners: Japan 12.5%, France 12.1%, Spain 11.4%, Italy 10.4%, Belgium 7.8%, Germany 7.4%, Russia 5%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.2%, Netherlands 4% (2003)

Imports partners: France 16.8%, Spain 7.7%, China 6.3%, Belgium 5.1%, Germany 4.9%, Japan 4.3%, UK 4.1%, USA 4% (2003)

Currency: Ouguiya (MRO)


Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Official Sites of Mauritania

Mauritania
Site du Gouvernement - Official Government site of Mauritania.

Embassy of Mauritania
Ottawa, Canada
Embassy of Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Washington D.C.


Statistics
Office National de la Statistique
The national Statistics office (in French).



Maps
Map of Mauritania
Political Map of Mauritania.
Google Earth Google Earth Mauritania
Zoomable satellite view of Mauritania.
Google Earth Google Earth Nouakchott
Zoomable satellite view of Mauritania's capital city.

Map of North Africa and the Middle East
Reference map of North Africa and the Middle East.
Map of Africa
Political Map of Africa.
 

News

AMI - Agence Mauritanienne d'Iinformation
Mauritanian News Agency (in French and Arabic)


Nouakchott Info Quotidien
Provides summaries of Mauritanian news (in French).
 

 

Arts & Culture

Maison d'Arts
Museum for African arts.
Maurifemme
Portal for and about Mauritanian women.
Musique Mauritanienne
Page to popular Mauritanian musicians (in French).
 

 

Business & Economy

Banque Centrale de Mauritanie
Mauritania's Central Bank (in French).


__Transportation

Airline
Air Mauritanie
Mauritania's national carrier.
 
 

Mauritania Country Guides

Embassy of Islamic Republic of Mauritania in Washington D.C.
The embassy provides also information about the country.


De Terjit à Chinguitti
From Terjit to Chinguitt, a French based guide to the holy city of the Sahara (in French).
Trek en Mauritanie
A trek in Mauritania, afoot in the Sahara (in French).

Tour Operator
Adrar Voyages
Organizes voyages for groups in the most remote areas of the country (in French).
Amatliche Tours
Desert tours and more (in French).
Appel du Desert
Call of the desert, Mauritania and Senegal tours (in French).
Poussières d'Etoiles/PST
Expedition to Mauritania.
Surmi Voyages
Mauritania tour operator.
Tourist complex Tenadi
Located at Trarza 90 km from Nouakchott on the road connecting Nouakchott with Mali (in French).
 
 Books about Travel in Mauritania

US books 

Travel Guides Mauritania
   Travel Guides Mauritania
   Guide de tourisme et voyages en Mauritanie (in French)
UK books  Mauritania Travel Guides
fr books  Guide de tourisme et voyages en Mauritanie
German books  German Books: Reiseführer Mauretanien

Education

Bibliothèque de l'Université de NKTT
The Nouakchott University Library (in French).
Institut Pédagogique National
National Institute of Pedagogy (in French).
Université de Nouakchott
Main academic institution in Mauritania, founded in 1981.
 
 

Environment

Ministère du Développement Rural et de l'Environnement
Official website of the Ministry for Rural Development and the Environment with information about the ministry , its work and function. (in French and Arabic)

Le Parc National du Banc d'Arguin
About the national park with an exceptional coastal ecosystem (in French).
 
 

History

History
History of Mauritania by the Embassy of Mauritania in Washington.
Mauritania's history
Overview of Mauritania's history by ArabNet.
History of Mauritania
Wikipedia entry about Mauritania's history.
 
 

Search

L'Annuaire Internet de la Mauritanie
Index of websites related to Mauritania.
inforim.mr
La Mauritanie Online, Mauritanian directory (in French).
MarWeb
North Africa search engine and directory.
Mauritanie Info
by Top Technology

Additional Information on Mauritania

Africa South of the Sahara: Mauritania
Karen Fung's list of Mauritania related sites.
African Studies Center - University of Pennsylvania: Mauritania
ArabNet -- Mauritania
BBC News Country Profile: Mauritania
Governments on the WWW: Mauritania
An MBendi Profile: Mauritania
Miftah Shamali - Mauritania
LexicOrient info about Mauritania.
UT - MENIC: Countries: Mauritania
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies (University of Texas) on Mauritania
Wikipedia: Mauritania
The World Factbook -- Mauritania
 
 

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The Mauritania page was last modified on: Friday, 03-Apr-2009 09:02:01 CEST


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