Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in northwest Africa. The capital city, which is also the biggest city in the country, is Nouakchott. It is on the Atlantic coast. Its president is General Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
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| Motto: | |
| Anthem: | |
.svg) Location of Mauritania (dark green) in western Africa | |
| Capital and largest city | Nouakchott 18°09′N 15°58′W / 18.150°N 15.967°W |
| Official languages | Arabic |
| English, Italian, Spanish | |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Religion | Islam (Sunni) |
| Demonym(s) | Mauritanian |
| Government | Unitary semi-presidential Islamic republic |
| Mohamed Ould Ghazouani | |
| Mokhtar Ould Djay | |
| Mohamed Ould Meguett[1] | |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Independence | |
• Republic established | 28 November 1958 |
• Independence from France | 28 November 1960 |
• Current constitution | 12 July 1991 |
| Area | |
• Total | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).[2] (28th) |
• Water (%) | 0.03 |
| Population | |
• 2016 estimate | 4,301,018[3] |
• 2013 census | 3,537,368[2] |
• Density | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| GDP (PPP) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $18.117 billion[4] (134th) |
• Per capita | $4,563[4] (140th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $5.200 billion[4] (154th) |
• Per capita | $1,309[4] (149th) |
| Gini (2014) | ▼ 32.6[5] medium |
| HDI (2019) |  0.546[6]low · 157th |
| Currency | Ouguiya (MRU) |
| Time zone | UTC (GMT) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +222 |
| ISO 3166 code | MR |
| Internet TLD | .mr |
At 1,030,700 km² (397,929 mi²),[7] Mauritania is the world's 29th-largest country (after Bolivia). It is similar in size to Egypt. The land is flat in most places.
Demographics
Religion
| Mauritania Religions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islam | 99.9% | |||
| Christianity | 0.1% | |||
Mauritania is almost 100% Muslim, most of whom are Sunni. People can be killed in Mauritania for being an atheist.[8] On 27 April 2018, The National Assembly passed a law that allows for the death penalty for certain apostasy-related crimes.[9]
Language
Afro-Asiatic languages
Modern Standard Arabic is the official language of Mauritania. Hassaniya is the Arabic dialect that is widely spoken throughout the country. It is mostly used in daily life.
Berber languages
There are also some Berber languages that are spoken in Mauritania. In de south Zenaga is spoken and close to the border with Mali in the southeast Tamasheq (a variety of Tuareg) is spoken. Zenaga is only spoken by a few hundred people and seems to be close to disappearance.[10]
Foreign languages
As Mauritania is a former colony of France, it is now part of the Francophonie. French is spoken including African French and Maghreb French.
Niger-Congo languages
There are several Niger-Congo languages that are spoken in Mauritania. These are Wolof, Soninke, Pulaar and Bambara.[11]
Economy
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Mauritania is rich in natural resources but has a low GDP.[12] Many people living in Mauritania depend on farming and livestock. Mauritania has a large deposit of iron ore, which is almost half of the country's total exports.
Mauritania Media
The Mauritanian national anthem performed by the United States Navy Band. Converted from MP3 to OGG.
Rock art in the Sahara Desert
The Portuguese Empire ruled Arguin (Portuguese: Arguim) from 1445, after Prince Henry the Navigator set up a feitoria, until 1633.
Nouakchott is the capital and the largest city of Mauritania. It is one of the largest cities in the Sahara.
Chinguetti was a center of Islamic scholarship in West Africa.
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in his hometown, Akjoujt, on 15 March 2009.
Topography of Mauritania. Created with GMT from GLOBE data.
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References
- ↑ Ould Baya élu président du parlement mauritanien. 9 October 2018. https://www.bbc.com/afrique/region-45793286. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 (July 2015) Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat (RGPH) 2013 . National Statistical Office of Mauritania, v. Report.[dead link]
- ↑ "World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision". ESA.UN.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Mauritania". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ↑ "Gini Index coefficient". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ↑ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ↑ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ↑ Evans, Robert (9 December 2012). "Atheists around world suffer persecution, discrimination: report". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- ↑ Mehta, Hemant (17 May 2018). "Mauritania Passes Law Mandating Death Penalty for "Blasphemy"". Patheos. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ↑ "L'arabisation en marche de la Mauritanie: quand une politique d'aménagement linguistique tenace est en passe de réussir (?)". www.unice.fr. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ↑ "What Languages Are Spoken in Mauritania?". WorldAtlas. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ↑ International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept. (2015). Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Selected Issues Paper. International Monetary Fund. pp. 19–22. ISBN 978-1-4843-3657-1. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
Other websites
Media related to Mauritania at Wikimedia Commons
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