Country Details
| Land Area |
1,030,400 sq km |
Population |
2667859 |
| Capital City |
Nouakchott |
People |
mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% |
| Language |
French & Arabic |
Religion |
Muslim |
| Government Type |
republic |
Life Expectancy |
51.14 years |
| HIV/AIDS Rate |
1.8% (2000 est.) |
GNP per Capita |
$2,000 |
| Currency |
ouguiya (MRO) |
Major Exports |
iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
| National Holiday |
Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
Dialing Code |
222 |
| Electricity |
220V |
Malaria Risk |
High Risk |
| Water Quality |
Unsafe |
Inoculations |
Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Polio, Malaria |
| Crime |
|
Driving License |
National licence accepted otherwise International Driving Permit. |
| Photography |
|
Entry Regs |
Passport & Visa |
| Time Zone |
GMT |
|
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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 flawed, but October 2001 legislative and municipal elections were generally free and open. Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black population and the Maur (Arab-Berber) populace.
