Mauritania Facts

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, western Sahara in the north, Algeria in the northeast, Mali in the east and southeast, and Senegal in the southwest. It is in the Maghreb and West Africa, and is named after the Roman province of Mauretania.

Nouakchott is the largest city and the capital of Mauritania. It is the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. The city is divided into a number of administrative districts, which are further divided into alphabetized blocks. It has an estimated population of 881,000.

Freedom of religion is restricted by the government. The constitution of the country decrees that Islam is the religion of the republic, and so it is the official religion.

The estimated literacy rate in Mauritania is 55.8. The education system of Mauritania was established by the French colonial administration. In recent times, education has become compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14.

The currency of Mauritania is the Mauritanian ouguiya and its ISO 4217 code is MRO. It was introduced in 1973, replacing the CFA franc. 1 USD= 282.06 MRO.

The capital, Nouakchott, is the largest city of Mauritania. Till 1958 it was a tiny fishing town. It has a deep-sea port. It opened in 1986 and is primarily used for importing goods. It is speculated that the Berber Muslim Almoravids were originally from this area as its name is based on a Berber expression meaning “place of winds”. The capital is built around a large tree-lined street named Avenue Abdel Nasir. It runs northeast through the city center from the airport. The city has the University of Nouakchott, which is the only university in the country and was opened in 1981.

On November 28, 1960 Mauritania declared its independence. This day is the national day of the country and is celebrated as a national holiday.

The first fully democratic election since 1960 occurred on March 11, 2007. This election marked the final transfer from military to civilian rule. Mohamed Quid Abdel Aziz is the president of Mauritania while Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf is the prime minister.

The official languages of the country are Arabic and French.

The economy of Mauritania depends largely on livestock and agriculture, although it has extensive deposits of iron ore. Its estimated GDP is 6.494 billion dollars.

The country’s coastal areas are among the richest fishing areas in the world. It exports Iron ore, fish, fish products and gold to its export partners: China, France, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium. Machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods and consumer goods are imported by Mauritania from France, China, Netherlands, Spain and USA.