The Berber and Bafour people were among the first to settle in what is now Mauritania. Originally a nomadic people, they were among the first in recorded history to convert from a nomadic to agricultural lifestyle. These groups account for roughly one third of Mauritania’s ethnic makeup. The remainder of Mauritania’s ethnic groups derive from former enslaved peoples and Sub-Saharan ethnic groups originating mainly from the Senegal River Valley. These three groups are organized according to a strict caste system with deep ethnic divides that still exist today.
A former French colony, Mauritania achieved independence from France in 1960. Mauritania initially began as a single-party, authoritarian regime and saw 49 years of dictatorships, flawed elections, failed attempts at democracy, and military coups. Ould Abdel AZIZ led the last coup in 2008, and was elected president in 2009 and reelected in 2014. Mohamed Ould Cheikh GHAZOUANI was elected president in 2019, and his inauguration marked the first peaceful transition of power from one democratically elected president to another, solidifying Mauritania’s status as an emerging democracy. International observers recognized the elections as relatively free and fair.The country is working to address a continuing practice of slavery and its vestiges. Mauritania officially abolished slavery in 1981, but the practice was not criminalized until 2007. Between 2005 and 2011, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) launched a series of attacks killing American and foreign tourists and aid workers, attacking diplomatic and government facilities, and ambushing Mauritanian soldiers and gendarmes. Although Mauritania has not seen an attack since 2011, AQIM and similar groups remain active in the Sahel region.
land: 1,030,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
border countries (4): Algeria 460 km; Mali 2,236 km; Morocco 1,564 km; Senegal 742 km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m
mean elevation: 276 m
arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 38.1% (2018 est.)
forest: 0.2% (2018 est.)
other: 61.3% (2018 est.)
4,244,878 (2023 est.)
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian
Black Moors (Haratines - Arabic-speaking descendants of African origin who are or were enslaved by White Moors) 40%, White Moors (of Arab-Berber descent, known as Beydane) 30%, Sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Halpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara ethnic groups) 30%
Arabic (official and national), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French; note - the spoken Arabic in Mauritania differs considerably from the Modern Standard Arabic used for official written purposes or in the media; the Mauritanian dialect, which incorporates many Berber words, is referred to as Hassaniya
major-language sample(s):
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Muslim (official) 100%
With a sustained total fertility rate of about 3.5 children per woman and almost 60% of the population under the age of 25 as of 2020, Mauritania’s population is likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future. Mauritania’s large youth cohort is vital to its development prospects, but available schooling does not adequately prepare students for the workplace. Girls continue to be underrepresented in the classroom, educational quality remains poor, and the dropout rate is high. The literacy rate is only about 50%, even though access to primary education has improved since the mid-2000s. Women’s restricted access to education and discriminatory laws maintain gender inequality - worsened by early and forced marriages and female genital cutting.The denial of education to black Moors also helps to perpetuate slavery. Although Mauritania abolished slavery in 1981 (the last country in the world to do so) and made it a criminal offense in 2007, the millenniums-old practice persists largely because anti-slavery laws are rarely enforced and the custom is so ingrained. According to a 2018 nongovernmental organization’s report, a little more than 2% of Mauritania’s population is enslaved, which includes individuals subjected to forced labor and forced marriage, while many thousands of individuals who are legally free contend with discrimination, poor education, and a lack of identity papers and, therefore, live in de facto slavery. The UN and international press outlets have claimed that up to 20% of Mauritania’s population is enslaved, which would be the highest rate worldwide.Drought, poverty, and unemployment have driven outmigration from Mauritania since the 1970s. Early flows were directed toward other West African countries, including Senegal, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, and Gambia. The 1989 Mauritania-Senegal conflict forced thousands of black Mauritanians to take refuge in Senegal and pushed labor migrants toward the Gulf, Libya, and Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Mauritania has accepted migrants from neighboring countries to fill labor shortages since its independence in 1960 and more recently has received refugees escaping civil wars, including tens of thousands of Tuaregs who fled Mali in 2012.Mauritania was an important transit point for Sub-Saharan migrants moving illegally to North Africa and Europe. In the mid-2000s, as border patrols increased in the Strait of Gibraltar, security increased around Spain’s North African enclaves (Ceuta and Melilla), and Moroccan border controls intensified, illegal migration flows shifted from the Western Mediterranean to Spain’s Canary Islands. In 2006, departure points moved southward along the West African coast from Morocco and then Western Sahara to Mauritania’s two key ports (Nouadhibou and the capital Nouakchott), and illegal migration to the Canaries peaked at almost 32,000. The numbers fell dramatically in the following years because of joint patrolling off the West African coast by Frontex (the EU’s border protection agency), Spain, Mauritania, and Senegal; the expansion of Spain’s border surveillance system; and the 2008 European economic downturn.
0-14 years: 36.11% (male 769,229/female 763,465)
15-64 years: 59.58% (male 1,197,311/female 1,331,815)
65 years and over: 4.31% (2023 est.) (male 77,123/female 105,935)
total dependency ratio: 82.7
youth dependency ratio: 76.8
elderly dependency ratio: 6
potential support ratio: 16.8 (2021 est.)
total: 21.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 20.9 years
female: 22.8 years
1.96% (2023 est.)
27.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
with most of the country being a desert, vast areas of the country, particularly in the central, northern, and eastern areas, are without sizeable population clusters; half the population lives in or around the coastal capital of Nouakchott; smaller clusters are found near the southern border with Mali and Senegal as shown in this
urban population: 57.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 3.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1.492 million NOUAKCHOTT (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
21.8 years (2019/21)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
465 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 50 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 55.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 43.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 65.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 63.1 years
female: 68.1 years
3.46 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.71 (2023 est.)
11.5% (2019/20)
improved: urban: 98.7% of population
rural: 68.4% of population
total: 85.2% of population
unimproved: urban: 1.3% of population
rural: 31.6% of population
total: 14.8% of population (2020 est.)
3.4% of GDP (2020)
0.19 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 83.5% of population
rural: 25.2% of population
total: 57.5% of population
unimproved: urban: 16.5% of population
rural: 74.8% of population
total: 42.5% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
12.7% (2016)
total: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 10.7% (2020 est.)
male: 19.3% (2020 est.)
female: 2.1% (2020 est.)
22.4% (2022)
66% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 15.5%
women married by age 18: 36.6%
men married by age 18: 1.2% (2021 est.)
1.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67%
male: 71.8%
female: 62.2% (2021)
total: 9 years
male: 8 years
female: 9 years (2020)
overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river; locust infestation
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty
agricultural land: 38.5% (2018 est.)
arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 38.1% (2018 est.)
forest: 0.2% (2018 est.)
other: 61.3% (2018 est.)
urban population: 57.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 3.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
widespread lack of access: due to high food prices - according to the latest analysis, nearly 695,000 people are projected to be in need of humanitarian assistance during the June to August 2023 lean season; this would be an improvement compared to the previous year, mostly due to the substantial cereal production increase in 2022; high food prices continue to worsen food security, while flooding in 2022, which affected about 54,000 people, has further aggravated the conditions of vulnerable households (2023)
1.3% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 41.98 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 2.74 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 6.16 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 454,000 tons (2009 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 36,320 tons (2009 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 8% (2009 est.)
Senegal river mouth (shared with Guinea [s], Senegal and Mali) - 1,641 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 sq km), Senegal (456,397 sq km)
Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin, Taodeni-Tanzerouft Basin
municipal: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 1.2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
11.4 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
lower middle-income West African economy; primarily agrarian; rising urbanization; poor property rights; systemic corruption; endemic social and workforce tensions; wide-scale terrorism; foreign over-fishing; environmentally fragile
$24.494 billion (2021 est.)
$23.909 billion (2020 est.)
$24.136 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
2.45% (2021 est.)
-0.94% (2020 est.)
5.3% (2019 est.)
$5,300 (2021 est.)
$5,300 (2020 est.)
$5,500 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$706 million (2018 est.)
3.57% (2021 est.)
2.39% (2020 est.)
2.3% (2019 est.)
agriculture: 27.8% (2017 est.)
industry: 29.3% (2017 est.)
services: 42.9% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 64.9% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 21.8% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 56.1% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: -3.2% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 39% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -78.6% (2017 est.)
rice, milk, goat milk, sheep milk, sorghum, mutton, beef, camel milk, camel meat, dates
fish processing, oil production, mining (iron ore, gold, copper)
note: gypsum deposits have never been exploited
-6.61% (2021 est.)
1.197 million (2021 est.)
11.46% (2021 est.)
11.27% (2020 est.)
10.39% (2019 est.)
total: 23% (2021 est.)
male: 20.8%
female: 27.9%
31% (2014 est.)
32.6 (2014 est.)
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 29.5% (2000)
revenues: $1.617 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $1.407 billion (2019 est.)
-0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
96.6% of GDP (2017 est.)
100% of GDP (2016 est.)
27.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
calendar year
-$807.862 million (2021 est.)
-$576.175 million (2020 est.)
-$831.106 million (2019 est.)
$3.18 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.784 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.525 billion (2019 est.)
China 32%, Switzerland 13%, Spain 9%, Japan 9%, Italy 5% (2019)
iron ore, gold, mollusks and shellfish, frozen fish, copper ore (2021)
$4.312 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$3.675 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$3.683 billion (2019 est.)
China 26%, France 6%, Spain 6%, Morocco 6%, United Arab Emirates 5% (2019)
ships, aircraft, wheat, raw sugar, refined petroleum (2019)
$2.039 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$1.493 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$1.029 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$4.15 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$3.899 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
ouguiyas (MRO) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
36.063 (2021 est.)
37.189 (2020 est.)
36.691 (2019 est.)
35.678 (2018 est.)
35.794 (2017 est.)
population without electricity: 3 million (2020)
electrification - total population: 47.6% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 89.6% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 1% (2020)
installed generating capacity: 656,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 1.577 billion kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 245 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 73.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 8.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 6.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 11.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 27,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 4,800 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 20 million barrels (2021 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
17,290 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 28.317 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
4.041 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 4.041 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
13.558 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 6
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 454,435 (2018)
5T
30 (2021)
9
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
21
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
total: 728 km (2014)
standard gauge: 728 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge
total: 12,253 km (2018)
paved: 3,988 km (2018)
unpaved: 8,265 km (2018)
1,086 km (2022) (some navigation possible on the Senegal River)
total: 11 (2022)
by type: general cargo 2, other 9
major seaport(s): Nouadhibou, Nouakchott
manyapis