Country Info

Mauritania

Geography and People

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General

Short name: Mauritania

Official name: Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Local short form: Muritaniyah

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara

Area: 1,030,700 sq km

Capital: Nouakchott

Independence: 28 November 1960 (from France)

National Holiday: Independence Day, 28 November (1960)

Constitution: 12 July 1991

Population: 3,177,388 (July 2006 est.)

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Ethnicity: Arab/Berber Maurs 70%, Black 30%

Languages: Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof

Religions: Muslim 100 per cent

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Geography

Location: Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara

Geographic Co-ordinates: 20 00 N, 12 00 W

Area - comparative: slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico

Land Boundaries: total: 5,074 km; border countries: Algeria 463km, Mali 2,237km, Senegal 813km, Western Sahara 1,561km

Coastline: 754km

Maritime Claims: territorial sea: 12nm; contiguous zone: 24nm; exclusive economic zone: 200nm; continental shelf: 200nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty

Terrain: mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills

Elevation Extremes: lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5m; highest point: Kediet Ijill 915m

Natural Resources: iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish

Geography – note: most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country

Political System

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Political System

Mauritania is a democratic and social Islamic Republic. The nation was run temporarily by Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall and the Military Council for Justice and Democracy after it deposed President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya in a coup on August 3rd 2005. Municipal and parliamentary democratic elections took place in late 2006-early 2007 and democratic presidential elections took place in March 2007. The elections were widely deemed transparent and fair.

The President

The president must be a Muslim native-born Mauritanian and is elected by popular vote for a five-year term, with the opportunity to be re-elected once. Presidential duties include being guardian of the constitution, representing the State, guaranteeing the continuous and regular function of public power, guaranteeing national independence and territorial integrity, presiding over the Council of Ministers, choosing the prime minister, dissolving parliament, conducting foreign policy, issuing referendums, pardoning and commuting sentences of prisoners, and deciding when to declare emergency measures and war. President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdellahi was ousted by General Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz in a military coup in August 2008. Abdelaziz won his own democratic mandate in July 2009 in presidential elections held under an agreement with coup opponents. International observers called the vote largely free and fair, but the main opposition candidates claimed the result was fabricated and designed to legitimise Abdelaziz's rule.

President: Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (since August 5th 2009)

Legislative

Legislative power is divided between the National Assembly, elected for five-year terms through direct suffrage, and the Senate, elected to six-year terms through indirect suffrage. The bodies hold two public ordinary sessions per year, not to exceed two months in length. Special sessions of up to one month may be called for by the president or by a two-third vote of the National Assembly to take up a specific agenda. Legislators vote on laws, first debated in the Council of Ministers, which determine the economic and social actions of the state. Parliament controls the administration of the state budget. Parliament members have the right to amend proposed laws.

Speaker of the National Assembly:

Messaoud Ould Boulkheir (since April 26th 2007)

Executive

The prime minister is appointed by the president and is responsible for defining the policy of government, dividing tasks among ministers and directing and co-ordinating the government's actions.

Prime Minister: Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf (since August 14th 2008)

Judiciary

The judicial branch is independent of the other two branches. Mauritania's 1991 constitution established a six-member constitutional court, three members of which are named by the president, two by the national assembly president, and one by the senate president. While the judiciary is nominally independent, it is subject to pressure and influence by the executive, which controls the appointment and dismissal of judges. The system is strongly influenced by rulings and settlements of tribal elders based on Shari'ah and tribal regulations. Mauritania has lower courts, a Court of Appeals and a Supreme Court.