page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Mauritania

Introduction
Mauritania

Background:

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. Maaouya Ould
Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania
with a heavy hand for over two decades. A series of presidential
elections that he held were widely seen as flawed. A bloodless coup
in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military
council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent
candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007
as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term
ended prematurely in August 2008 when a coup deposed him and ushered
in a military council government. Meanwhile, the country continues
to experience ethnic tensions among its black population
(Afro-Mauritanians) and White and Black Moor (Arab-Berber)
communities.

Geography
Mauritania

Location:

Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal
and Western Sahara

Geographic coordinates:

20 00 N, 12 00 W

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 1,030,700 sq km
land: 1,030,400 sq km
water: 300 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico

Land boundaries:

total: 5,074 km
border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km,
Western Sahara 1,561 km

Coastline:

754 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:

desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty

Terrain:

mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m
highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m

Natural resources:

iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish

Land use:

arable land: 0.2%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 99.79% (2005)

Irrigated land:

490 sq km (2002)

Total renewable water resources:

11.4 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 1.7 cu k