Mauritania

Overview Mauratania is a mostly landlocked country on the northwestern coast of africa and the Atlantic ocean with an area of 397929sq miles and a population of 3,364,940. It is a country with little social problems and interesting culture. Haley- Doing this project was great. There was information and facts I never even Knew. It was also pretty interesting to compare their culture and social problems to ours. Brennen- Working on this project was not the most productive way, in my opinion, to do a project. But, I did learn lots about Mauritania that I diddn't know before.

Maurtania was a great country to research and has many interesting facts to learn about. The most interesting fact was that the life expectancy is the lowest in the world. -Emma

Statistics Population 3,364,940 (July 2008 estimated) [|Life expectancy] at birth 53.91 years (2008 estimate)The average life expectancy is among the lowest in the world Ethnic groups 40% mixed Moor/Black; 30% [|Moor]; 30% [|Black]__ Religions __ 99.84% [|Muslim], most of whom are Sunnis __ Capital __ (and largest City) Nouakchott, __Offical language__ Arabic, __ Area __ 397929sq mi, __ Water % __ 0.03

**Geography**

Mauritania, is a country in the western region of the continent of africa, which is for the most part flat. Mauritania is three times the size of the state of Arizona. It is located in northwest Africa with about 350 mi (592 km) coastline on the atlantic ocean. Mauritania is bordered by four countries, Western Sahara (Moroccan dependency) on the north, Mali on the east and southeast, Algeria on the northeast, and Senegal on the southwest.

** History ** Mauritania was first founded by blacks and Berbers. It was a center for the Berber Almoravid movement in the 11th century, which sought to spread Islam through western Africa. It was first explored by the Portuguese in the 15th century. By the 19th century the French gained control. They organized the area into a territory in 1904, and in 1920 it became one of the colonies that constituted French West Africa. In 1946, it was named a French Overseas territory. The foremost problem confronting Mauritania, on becoming independent in 1960 after the dissolution of [|French West Africa], is its relationship with its more powerful northern neighbour, [|Morocco]. At first the Moroccan king refuses to acknowledge the existence of Mauritania, claiming that it is historically linked to [|Morocco] (it is the region from which the [|Almoravids] moved north in the 11th century to establish themselves at Marrakech).

In 1969 [|Morocco] drops this claim and accepts the existence of Mauritania. But the conflict now shifts to a long-running dispute over the Western Sahara, the barren area to the west of Mauritania. []



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 Economy

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//A// majority of the population still depends on [|//agriculture//] and [|//livestock//] for a livelihood, even though most of the nomads and many subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. With the current expenses in metal prices, other metal mining companies are opening up mines.The nation's coastal waters have the richest fishing areas in the world for fish, but foreigners threaten this key source of revenue. Only just a few years ago, drought and economic mismanagement have made buildups of foreign debt. Yet privilazation is the key issue they need to fix in mauritania.===== **Economy** GDP (2007): $2.8 billion. Annual growth rate (2007): 1.9%. Per capita income (2006): $952. Natural resources: petroleum, fish, iron ore, gypsum, copper, gum arabic, phosphates, salt and gold. Agriculture (13% of GDP 2007): //Products//--livestock, traditional fisheries, millet, maize, wheat, dates, rice. Industry (47% of GDP 2007): //Types//--mining, commercial fishing. Services (41% of GDP 2007). Trade: //Exports// (2006, f.o.b.)--$1.4 billion: iron ore, fish and fish products, gold, copper, petroleum. //Export// //partners// (2007)--China 30.5%, France 9.5%, Italy 8.6%, Spain 8.5%, Japan 5.5%, Netherlands 5.3%, Belgium 5%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.7%. //Imports// (2006)--$1.5 billion: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods. //Import partners// (2007)--France 16.7%, China 8.2%, Spain 6.8%, U.S. 6.2%, Belgium 5.8%, Brazil 5.5%. Currency: Ouguiya (UM). USAID: Total FY 2008 USAID humanitarian and development assistance to Mauritania--$21,106,735. (http://[|ww[[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5467.htm|w.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5467.htm]]]#) Above: A example of the type of money that Mauritania uses ** Government **  //

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The first fully democratic Presidential election since 1960 occurred on 11 March 2007. The election effected the final transfer from military to civilian rule following the military coup in 2005. This was the first time that the president had been selected in a multi-candidate election in the country's post-independence history.[|//[8//]] The election was won in a second round of voting by [|//Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi//], with [|//Ahmed Ould Daddah//] a close second. =====

This is Mauritania's Flag.

media type="youtube" key="-6zImuio_4w" height="295" width="480" Above: Mauritania's National Anthem. The Government, for nearly a decade, and gradually, a standard for legislative and good governance. Also faced, in parallel with this, in conjunction with, the problems of social and economic infrastructure of the country. وضعت الحكومة، منذ قرابة عقد من الزمن و بصفة تدريجية، جهازا معياريا و تشريعيا من أجل الحكم الرشيد .(sub paragraph shown above in arabic) []

Religion

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Since independence in 1960, Mauritania has been an Islamic republic. The Constitutional Charter of 1985 declares Islam the state religion and sharia the law of the land. Islam first spread southward into West Africa, including Mauritania, with the movement of Muslim traders and craftsmen and later with the founders of Islamic brotherhoods. Although the brotherhoods played a role in the early expansion of Islam, it was not until the nineteenth century that these religious orders assumed importance when they attempted to make religion a force for expanding identities and loyalties beyond the limits of kinship. The relative peace brought to the area by French administration and the growing resentment of colonial rule contributed to the rapid rise in the power and influence of the brotherhoods. In recent decades, these orders have opposed tribalism and have been an indispensable element in the growth of nationalist sentiment. ===== 

Since independence in 1960, Mauritania has been an Islamic republic. The Constitutional Charter of 1985 declares Islam the state religion and sharia the law of the land. []`

Culture

Languages //[|//Hassaniya//]// dialect of //[|//Arabic//]// (official and national); Other languages spoken include: //[|//Pulaar//]//, //[|//Soninke//]//, //[|//Wolof//]// and French (widely used in media and among educated classes, see //[|//African French//]//). The national holiday, independance day, is on November 28th.// ** Social Problems **

In 1999, there were an estimated 0.1 physicians and 0.7 hospital beds per 1,000 people. In 2000, 37% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 33% had adequate sanitation. 

Animals and Plants in Mauritania: Camels: Sandfish:



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Date Palms:
 * Mauritanias national name is Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah. In 2003, the estimated litercy rate was 42%.**

Other Bibliography []