Mauritania
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry name - conventional long form : Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Country name - conventional short form : Mauritania
Country name - local long form : Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
Country name - local short form : Muritaniyah
Government type : Democratic Republic
Capital - name : Nouakchott
Capital - time difference : UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Population : 3,364,940 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Mauritanian(s)
Nationality - adjective : Mauritanian
Languages : Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French, Hassaniya
Currency (code) : ouguiya (MRO)
Currency code : MRO
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk : high
Mauritania is located Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara. The climate is desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty. The terrain is mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.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.
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