About Mauritania

Explore this Mauritania map to learn everything you want to know about this country. Learn about Mauritania location on the world map, official symbol, flag, geography, climate, postal/area/zip codes, time zones, etc. Check out Mauritania history, significant states, provinces/districts, & cities, most popular travel destinations and attractions, the capital city’s location, facts and trivia, and many more.

The counrty Mauritania got its name from the prehistoric Mauretania kingdom. It was a Barber kingdom. The country is situated in the African continent. Enjoy your trip to the beaiful country and visit the attractive places there.

Physical Map Of Mauritania

Mauritania ranks twenty ninnth in size after Bolivia. It is almost same to Egypt in size. The land of the country is more or less plain. This plain is interrupted in some places by the long narrow natural elevations, which is called ridges. The Kediet Ijill peak claims the highest elevation in the country. It rises almost 915 meter above the sea level. On the other hand Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha that goes up to 5 meter below the sea claims the lowest point in Mauritania.

Location Of Mauritania

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is located in the northwestern region of the African continent.

The neighboring counrties that share their border with this country are Senegal in the south-western side, Mali in the eastern side, Algeria in the north-eastern region and Moroccan in the north-western region.

Flag Of Mauritania

The flag of Islamic Republic of Mauritania is a very beautiful one. It is a rectangular flag and has total two colors in it. The background is colored in green. In the middle of the flag there is a crescent horizontally drawn. It is yellow in colors. A little above this hemispherical shape, a star is also shown. This is a five-pointed star. It is also yellow in color. The convex side of the crescent is facing the down side. This particular combination of the two colors is the symbol of Islamic tradition.

Climate Of Mauritania

It is always very important to gather some details about the climate of the country you are going to visit. That will help you to choose the best time for visiting the place. In Mauritania, the weather remains basically very hot throughout the year. Especially the weather of the southern regions of the country does fluctuate very much. Rainfall is very rare in this country. However suring the summer months you can face a little rain. So you can well understand that winter is the best time to visit the counrty. To say more clearly, the months between December and March are the most suitable time for the travelors.

Flora And Fauna Of Mauritania

Flora : The vegetation of Islamic Republic of Mauritania is very poor due to the desert climate. Only a few species can be found in this counry. The varities are very rich either. However in the oasis area the species such as baobab tree, palms and acacias are found in huge quantity. Some cactus trees also grow in large number in this climate. On the other hand, the Senegal River valley region is characterized by varieties of willows, jujube, acacias and some other plants.

Fauna : The animal kingdom is also affected by the climate of he country. If you proceed to the southern regions of the country, you will find various species of cheetahs, lions, jackals, crocodiles, panthers, hippopotami, hyenas, monkeys, otters and so on. The northern region is also known for some varieties of animals such as wild sheep, ostriches, antelopes etc. Some other species of large sized birds, ducks can also be found in this region.

People Of Mauritania

Almost 2,500,000 people reside in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The country is home for various ethnic groups. Among those the Moors people are the majority. The other minority groups include mixed group of Maur and black people and some other. Arabic is the official language pf the country. So most of the people speak this language. However French, Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof and Hassaniya languages are also spoken widely in the country.

•  Art : Mauritania is famous for the local handicrafts. These handicrafts include colored cushions made of leather, inscribed Silver works; woodcarvings, carpet art etc. Besides these, Silver jewelry, silver chests and some other crafts are also very popular in the country. Neolithic arrowheads, awls and pottery are practiced in the Tagant regions of he country.

•  Culture: Islamic Republic of Mauritania has developed a very rich cultural atmosphere in the presence of the various ethnic groups. Customs and traditions of the other tribes and races except Islam, have also been accepted in Mauritanian culture. The cultural activities also include the activities of the other castes and tribes living in this country.

•  Music: In Mauritania most of the musicians are from the caste known as iggawin. In the ancient era, these people used to work as messengers from one village to the other.They used to sing to encourage the warriors.

Some of the musical instruments that are used in the Mauritanian music are tidinit (a lute with four strings), ardin (especially an instrument of women shaped like kora) etc. Tbal is another king of drum that is used as a Percussion instrument. Another one the same group is the daghumma or a rattle.

Economy Of Mauritania

The economy of Mauritania largely depends on its agriculture. The primary agricultural products of the country are corn, millet, sorghum, rice, dates and so on. In Mauritania some industries are growing rapidly. These are iron-ore industry, fish processing industry, gypsum industry etc. Iron ore is the main export commodity that covers almost 40% of the whole amount of exports. The other export materials that are exported to the foreign countries are gold, fish and so on. The nations that take part in the export business with Mauritania are Italy, Belgium, Japan, Spain, France, Germany, Russia, and Netherlands.

To gather more information on the country Islamic Republic of Mauritania and other worldwide countries, keep surfing through Mapsofworld.

Mauritania Duty Free Shops

Mauritania Duty Free Shops are located at different parts of the country of Mauritania in the African continent. There are a number of items that can be bought duty free in Mauritania. The list of the Mauritania Duty Free Shops and goods however has a few restrictions as well. The major restriction in the Mauritania Duty Free Shops is that, the duty free goods in Mauritania can be carried by only those who have crossed the age limit of eighteen years.

The items that can be imported into Mauritania, which are free of customs duty at Mauritania consist of two hundred cigarettes or twenty five cigars at a time. This amount is equal to four hundred and fifty grams of tobacco. Other goods, which can be carried without paying any custom duty, are:

Fifty grams of perfume and two hundred and fifty grams of eau de toilette

• One still camera
• One wireless set
• One cine camera
• One projector

The cameras and the projectors are however included in the list of duty free shopping in Mauritania for the tourists only.

The sporting guns, although come under the category of duty free goods available in Mauritania Duty Free Shops, they require a special license that can be obtained from the Home Ministry of Mauritania prior to visiting the land. The sale of alcohols however is strictly prohibited in the Mauritania Duty Free Shops. A reasonable amount of gift items can be bought from the Mauritania Duty Free Shops.

Mauritania Banks

Mauritania Banks have undergone a sea change since the days of Mauritania’s Independence. During independence, the Mauritania Banks were member of the West African Monetary Union. However Mauritania withdrew itself in the year 1973 in order to demonstrate its own independent identity in the economic sector. Along with the Mauritania Banks, the government also terminated its membership from the African Financial Community. After that came the revolutionary step of creating Mauritania’s own currency.

In the 1980s, the Central Bank of Mauritania took over the banking structure of Mauritania along with the establishment of six commercial banks with the help of the government. Other chief share holders of the Banks of Mauritania were Arab interests including the Libyan and Saudi participation.

In the early years of the 1980s, the Mauritanian Banks were deteriorating day-by-day due to the accretion of the nonperforming loans which were a part of the 50% assets of the commercial banking. The limit of borrowing from the Central Bank of Mauritania or the BCM, by the government rose to soaring heights between 1981 and 1983.

The Banks in Mauritania were restructured in 1985 by the government with the aid of IMF and the World Bank support. The three major areas of concern for the Banks of Mauritania are reformation of the policies regarding credit and banking, restructuring the six commercial banks along with the International Bank of Mauritania and the strengthening of the BCM.

Mauritania Languages

The multiracial culture of Mauritania has contributed to the growth of many Mauritania languages. However, the language which has been recognized as the official or national language of Mauritania is Hassaniyya.

There are many other Mauritania languages which are spoken regularly by different races of people in Mauritania. The six Mauritania languages including the Hassaniyya language have been honored as lively languages. These six are not the only languages spoken in Mauritania. There are also a many dialects in use by different castes, tribes or clans. But these have not been recognized officially.

Few foreign languages are also in use in Mauritania. Nearly 60000 people speak in the foreign languages in Mauritania like French, Bambara and Korean.

The 6 lively languages of Mauritania include:

• Hassaniyya – This language is spoken throughout the country of Mauritania. According to the 2002 estimates, the number of speakers of Hassaniyya was 24,75,000.
• Pulaar – The alternate name of this language is Peul. It is recorded that 1,50,000 people in Mauritania speak in this language. Imeraguen – It is spoken in a thin area between Nouadhibou and Cape Timiris near Nouakchott.
• Wolof – According to 1993 estimates this language was spoken by nearly 10000 people of Mauritania.
• Soninke – This language is spoken at Chamama Region in Mauritania.
• Zenaga – This language is spoken in a small area in Southern Mauritania between the Atlantic Coast and Mederdra.