Mauritania

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Country summary

Capital

Nouakchott

Borders

Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km

Government type

military junta

Population

3,129,486 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

2.399% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

60.37 years[1]

Unemployment

30% (2008 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

133[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

130[3]

Doing Business ranking

166[4]


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 more than 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 military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ deposed him and ushered in a military council government. AZIZ was subsequently elected president in July 2009. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among its black population (Afro-Mauritanians) and white and black Moor (Arab-Berber) communities, and is having to confront a growing terrorism threat by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Ouguiya (ISO code: MRO)
  • Central bank discount rate: NA% (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: NA%[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $NA[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $NA[1]

Notable events:

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[6] 1 195 1 081 1 122 1 150 1 285 1 548 1 837 2 663 2 644 2 858
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[7]
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[8]
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[9]
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Mauritania", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-10-04.
  2. ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Mauritania", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-04.
  3. ↑ Transparency International. "Mauritania", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-10-04.
  4. ↑ Doing Business. "Mauritania", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-10-04.
  5. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 373. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-20.
  6. ↑ World Bank. "Mauritania: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-04.
  7. ↑ World Bank. "Mauritania: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-04.
  8. ↑ World Bank. "Mauritania: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-04.
  9. ↑ World Bank. "Mauritania: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-10-04.

Links

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