sovereign state in West Africa and North Africa From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
|---|---|
| Motto: شرف، إخاء، عدل "Honour, Fraternity, Justice" | |
| Anthem: النشيد الوطني الموريتاني "Land of the Proud, Guided by Noblemen" | |
.svg) Location of Mauritania (dark green) in western Africa | |
| Capital and largest city | Nouakchott 18°09′N 15°58′W |
| Official languages | Arabic |
| Recognised national languages | French |
| Recognised regional languages | Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, Zenaga |
| Other languages | English, Italian, Spanish |
| Ethnic groups |
|
| Religion | Islam (Sunni) |
| Demonym(s) | Mauritanian |
| Government | Unitary semi-presidential Islamic republic |
| Mohamed Ould Ghazouani | |
| Mokhtar Ould Djay | |
• President of the National Assembly | 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 | 1,030,000 km2 (400,000 sq mi)[2] (28th) |
• Water (%) | 0.03 |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 4,614,974[3][4] |
• 2013 census | 3,537,368[2] |
• Density | 3.4/km2 (8.8/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $18.117 billion[5] (134th) |
• Per capita | $4,563[5] (140th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2018 estimate |
• Total | $5.200 billion[5] (154th) |
• Per capita | $1,309[5] (149th) |
| Gini (2014) |  32.6[6]medium |
| HDI (2019) |  0.546[7]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),[8] Mauritania is the world's 29th-largest country (after Bolivia). It is similar in size to Egypt. The land is flat in most places.
Mauritania is almost 100% Muslim, most of whom are Sunni. People can be killed in Mauritania for being an atheist.[9] On 27 April 2018, The National Assembly passed a law that allows for the death penalty for certain apostasy-related crimes.[10]
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.
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.[11]
As Mauritania is a former colony of France, it is now part of the Francophonie. French is spoken including African French and Maghreb French.
There are several Niger-Congo languages that are spoken in Mauritania. These are Wolof, Soninke, Pulaar and Bambara.[12]
.svg)
Mauritania is rich in natural resources but has a low GDP.[13] 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.
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