Bangladesh (2002) | Mauritania (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 5 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi; note - there may be one additional division named Sylhet | 12 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 capital district*; Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh Ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott*, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.8% (male 23,069,242; female 21,995,457)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 42,924,778; female 40,873,077) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 2,444,314; female 2,069,816) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 45.9% (male 689,371; female 686,486)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 767,551; female 788,520) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 27,106; female 39,529) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 18 (2001) | 24 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
total: 1,030,700 sq km
land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Iowa | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico |
Background | Bangladesh came into existence in 1971 when Bengali East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. | 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. Opposition parties were legalized and a new constitution approved in 1991. Two multiparty presidential elections since then were widely seen as flawed, but October 2001 legislative and municipal elections were generally free and open. Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black population and the dominant Moor (Arab-Berber) populace. |
Birth rate | 25.12 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 41.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.9 billion
expenditures: $6.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $421 million
expenditures: $378 million, including capital expenditures of $154 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Dhaka | Nouakchott |
Climate | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
Coastline | 580 km | 754 km |
Constitution | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972, suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986, amended many times | 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
conventional short form: Bangladesh former: East Pakistan |
conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
conventional short form: Mauritania local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah |
Currency | taka (BDT) | ouguiya (MRO) |
Death rate | 8.47 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.74 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $17 billion (2000) (2000) | $2.5 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary Ann PETERS
embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 8824700 through 8824722 FAX: [880] (2) 8823744 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph E. LEBARON
embassy: 288 Rue Abdallaye (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott mailing address: BP 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 525-2660/525-2663 FAX: [222] 25-25-92 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Syed Hasan AHMAD
chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-5366 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Tijani Ould KERIM
chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700, 5701 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623 |
Disputes - international | only a small portion of the boundary with India remains undelimited; discussions to demarcate the boundary, exchange 162 miniscule enclaves, and allocate divided villages remain stalled; skirmishes, illegal border trafficking, and violence along the border continue; Bangladesh has protested India's attempts to fence off high traffic sections of the porous boundary; Burmese attempts to construct a dam on the border stream in 2001 prompted an armed response halting construction; Burmese Muslim refugees migrate into Bangladesh straining meager resources | Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.575 billion | $220 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Despite sustained domestic and international efforts to improve economic and demographic prospects, Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and ill-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single most important product. Major impediments to growth include frequent cyclones and floods, inefficient state-owned enterprises, inadequate port facilities, a rapidly growing labor force that cannot be absorbed by agriculture, delays in exploiting energy resources (natural gas), insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Economic reform is stalled in many instances by political infighting and corruption at all levels of government. Progress also has been blocked by opposition from the bureaucracy, public sector unions, and other vested interest groups. The BNP government, led by Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA, has the parliamentary strength to push through needed reforms, but the party's level of political will to do so has been lacking. | Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports. The decline in world demand for this ore, however, has led to cutbacks in production. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. In the past, drought and economic mismanagement resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In February 2000, Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in December 2001 received strong support from donor and lending countries at a triennial Consultative Group review. In 2001, exploratory oil wells in tracts 80 km offshore indicated potential extraction at current world oil prices. A new investment code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. Ongoing negotiations with the IMF involve problems of economic reforms and fiscal discipline. Substantial oil production and exports probably will not begin until 2005. Meantime the government emphasizes reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and promoting privatization of the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 12.548 billion kWh (2000) | 146.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 13.493 billion kWh (2000) | 157.4 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 92%
hydro: 8% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m
highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m |
Environment - current issues | many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation | overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river; locust infestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims (1998) | mixed Maur/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30% |
Exchange rates | taka per US dollar - 57.756 (January 2002), 55.807 (2001), 52.142 (2000), 49.085 (1999), 46.906 (1998), 43.892 (1997) | ouguiyas per US dollar - NA (2003), 271.739 (2002), 255.629 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 Sepember 2002); note - the president's duties are normally ceremonial, but with the 13th amendment to the constitution ("Caretaker Government Amendment"), the president's role becomes significant at times when Parliament is dissolved and a caretaker government is installed - at presidential direction - to supervise the elections
head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda ZIA (since 10 October 2001) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the prime minister and appointed by the president elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term; election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election to be held by NA 2007); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared by the Election Commission elected unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Sghair Ould M'BARECK (since 6 July 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 7 November 2003 (next to be held NA 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected for a third term with 60.8% of the vote |
Exports | $6.6 billion (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
Exports - partners | US 31.8%, Germany 10.9%, UK 7.9%, France 5.2%, Netherlands 5.2%, Italy 4.42% (2000) | Japan 12.5%, France 12.1%, Spain 11.4%, Italy 10.4%, Belgium 7.8%, Germany 7.4%, Russia 5%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.2%, Netherlands 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | green with a large red disk slightly to the hoist side of center; the red sun of freedom represents the blood shed to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush countryside, and secondarily, the traditional color of Islam | green with a yellow five-pointed star above a yellow, horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $230 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.195 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 30%
industry: 18% services: 52% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 29% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,750 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2001 est.) | 4.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 00 N, 90 00 E | 20 00 N, 12 00 W |
Geography - note | most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal | most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country |
Highways | total: 201,182 km
paved: 19,112 km unpaved: 182,070 km (1997) |
total: 7,720 km
paved: 830 km unpaved: 6,890 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 29% |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries | - |
Imports | $8.7 billion (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, raw cotton, food, crude oil and petroleum products, cement | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | India 10.5%, EU 9.5%, Japan 9.5%, Singapore 8.5%, China 7.4% (2000) | France 16.8%, Spain 7.7%, China 6.3%, Belgium 5.1%, Germany 4.9%, Japan 4.3%, UK 4.1%, US 4% (2003) |
Independence | 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh | 28 November 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.2% (2001 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum |
Infant mortality rate | 68.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 72.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 75.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.8% (2000 est.) | 7% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 10 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 38,440 sq km (1998 est.) | 490 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts |
Labor force | 64.1 million (1998)
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $1.71 billion in 1998-99 (1998) |
786,000 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 63%, services 26%, industry 11% (FY95/96) | agriculture 50%, industry 10%, services 40% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
total: 5,074 km
border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km |
Land use | arable land: 60.7%
permanent crops: 2.61% other: 36.69% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.48%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.51% (2001) |
Languages | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English | Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof |
Legal system | based on English common law | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies (the constitutional amendment reserving 30 seats for women over and above the 300 regular parliament seats expired in May 2001); members serve five-year terms
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (next to be held before October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 46%, AL 42%; seats by party - BNP 201, AL 62, JI 18, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Naziur) 1, other 4; note - the election of October 2001 brought a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - Jamaat-i-Islami, Islami Oikya Jote, and Jatiya Party (Naziur) |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats, a part of the seats up for election every two years; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (81 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2002 (next to be held NA April 2004); National Assembly - last held 19 and 26 October 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRDS 54, RFD 1, UNDD 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - PRDS 79%, RDU 3.5%, UDP 3.5%, AC 5%, UFP 3.5%, FP 1.5%; seats by party - PRDS 64, UDP 3, RDU 3, AC 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, and FP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.92 years
male: 61.08 years female: 60.74 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 52.32 years
male: 50.15 years female: 54.56 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 56% male: 63% female: 49% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 41.7% male: 51.8% female: 31.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara |
Map references | Asia | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 18 NM
continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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 |
Merchant marine | total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 269,932 GRT/379,271 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 26, container 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, includes s foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 5 (2002 est.) |
none |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, paramilitary forces (includes Bangladesh Rifles, Bangladesh Ansars, Village Defense Parties, Armed Police Battalions, National Cadet Corps) | Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard (BSSP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $559 million (FY96/97) | $40.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY96/97) | 3.7% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 37,303,372 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 686,629 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 22,139,736 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 332,633 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi |
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian |
Natural hazards | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal | iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 1,250 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA, chairperson]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-E-Islami or JI [Motiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [[Naziur Rahman MANZUR] | Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Alliance for Justice and Democracy or AJD [Kebe ABDOULAYE]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA]; Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concorde or PMRC [Molaye El Hassen Ould JIYID]; National Union for Democracy and Development or UNDD [Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality and Justice or PLEJ [Daouda M'BAGNIGA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progress Alliance or APP [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]; Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]; Rally for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
note: the Action for Change party was banned in January 2002 although its members were permitted to keep their seats in the National Assembly; parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Arab nationalists; Ba'athists; General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general]; Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory Ould BEYE]; Islamists; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM, secretary general] |
Population | 133,376,684 (July 2002 est.) | 2,998,563 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36% | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.59% (2002 est.) | 2.91% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chittagong, Dhaka, Mongla Port, Narayanganj (2001) | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 12, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 6.15 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 2,745 km
broad gauge: 923 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.) |
717 km
standard gauge: 717 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) | Muslim 100% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.18 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country
domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2000) |
general assessment: limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations (improvements being made)
domestic: mostly cable and open-wire lines; a recently completed domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals international: country code - 222; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 Arabsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 500,000 (2000) | 31,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 283,000 (2000) | 300,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 15 (1999) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 35% (2001 est.) | 21% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | up to 8,046 km depending on season
note: includes 3,058 km main cargo routes |
some ferry traffic on Senegal River (2004) |