Croatia (2008) | Mauritania (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular); Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija | 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: 16% (male 368,639/female 349,703)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 1,499,354/female 1,515,932) 65 years and over: 16.9% (male 292,526/female 467,158) (2007 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 | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 68 (2007) | 24 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 23
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2007) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
total: 1,030,700 sq km
land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico |
Background | The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. | 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 | 9.63 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 41.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $22.46 billion
expenditures: $23.85 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $421 million
expenditures: $378 million, including capital expenditures of $154 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | name: Zagreb
geographic coordinates: 45 48 N, 16 00 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Nouakchott |
Climate | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
Coastline | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) | 754 km |
Constitution | adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001 | 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia |
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 | - | ouguiya (MRO) |
Death rate | 11.57 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.74 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $41.56 billion (30 June 2007) | $2.5 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. BRADTKE
embassy: 2 Thomas Jefferson Street, 10010 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373 |
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Marijan GUBIC
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, 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 | dispute remains with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains un-ratified and in dispute; Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic; as a European Union peripheral state, neighboring Slovenia must conform to the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia | Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $125.4 million (2005) | $220 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Once one of the wealthiest of the Yugoslav republics, Croatia's economy suffered badly during the 1991-95 war as output collapsed and the country missed the early waves of investment in Central and Eastern Europe that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since 2000, however, Croatia's economic fortunes have begun to improve slowly, with moderate but steady GDP growth between 4% and 6% led by a rebound in tourism and credit-driven consumer spending. Inflation over the same period has remained tame and the currency, the kuna, stable. Nevertheless, difficult problems still remain, including a stubbornly high unemployment rate, a growing trade deficit and uneven regional development. The state retains a large role in the economy, as privatization efforts often meet stiff public and political resistance. While macroeconomic stabilization has largely been achieved, structural reforms lag because of deep resistance on the part of the public and lack of strong support from politicians. The EU accession process should accelerate fiscal and structural reform. | 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 | 14.97 billion kWh (2005) | 146.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 3.634 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 8.746 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 11.99 billion kWh (2005) | 157.4 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m
highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife | 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census) | mixed Maur/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30% |
Exchange rates | kuna per US dollar - 5.3735 (2007), 5.8625 (2006), 5.9473 (2005), 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003) | ouguiyas per US dollar - NA (2003), 271.739 (2002), 255.629 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ivo SANADER (since 9 December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka KOSOR (since 23 December 2003) and Damir POLANCEC (since 15 February 2005), Djurdja ADLESIC (since 12 January 2008), Slobodan UZELAC (since 12 January 2008) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the parliamentary Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 16 January 2005 (next to be held in January 2010); the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and then approved by the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC reelected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC 66%, Jadranka KOSOR 34% in the second round |
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 | 40,930 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
Exports - partners | Italy 23.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.7%, Germany 10.4%, Slovenia 8.3%, Austria 6.1% (2006) | 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 | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) | 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 - $5.195 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 32% services: 60.7% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 29% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2007 est.) | 4.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 45 10 N, 15 30 E | 20 00 N, 12 00 W |
Geography - note | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; the vast majority of Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks | most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 7,720 km
paved: 830 km unpaved: 6,890 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 24.5% (2003 est.) |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe | - |
Imports | 109,800 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport and electrical equipment; chemicals, fuels and lubricants; foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Italy 16.7%, Germany 14.5%, Russia 9.7%, Slovenia 6.8%, Austria 5.4%, China 5.3% (2006) | 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 | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) | 28 November 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.5% (2007 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages, tourism | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 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) | 2.2% (2007 est.) | 7% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | 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 |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (2003) | 490 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Assembly | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts |
Labor force | 1.714 million (2007 est.) | 786,000 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32.8% services: 64.5% (2004) |
agriculture 50%, industry 10%, services 40% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,197 km
border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia 241 km, Montenegro 25 km, Slovenia 670 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: 25.82%
permanent crops: 2.19% other: 71.99% (2005) |
arable land: 0.48%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.51% (2001) |
Languages | Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census) | Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof |
Legal system | based on Austro-Hungarian law system with Communist law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly or Sabor (153 seats; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; number of seats by party - HDZ 66, SDP 56, HNS 7, HSS 6, HDSSB 3, IDS 3, SDSS 3, other 9 |
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: 74.9 years
male: 71.26 years female: 78.75 years (2007 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: 98.1% male: 99.3% female: 97.1% (2001 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 41.7% male: 51.8% female: 31.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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: 75 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,165,409 GRT/1,867,160 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 21, cargo 12, chemical tanker 3, passenger/cargo 28, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 2 (Bermuda 2) registered in other countries: 36 (Bahamas 1, Belize 1, Liberia 5, Malta 12, Marshall Islands 4, Panama 6, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7) (2007) |
none |
Military branches | Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (Oruzane Snage Republike Hrvatske, OSRH), consists of five major commands directly subordinate to a General Staff: Ground Forces (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM), Air Force, Joint Education and Training Command, Logistics Command; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2007) | Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard (BSSP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $40.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.39% (2005 est.) | 3.7% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 686,629 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 332,633 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 was the day the Croatian Parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower | iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish |
Net migration rate | 1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,556 km; oil 583 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Croatian Democratic Congress of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Vladimir SISLJAGIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of the Right or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Josip FRISCIC]; Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Vladimir JORDAN]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Djurdja ADLESIC]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Zoran MILANOVIC] | 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 | 4,493,312 (July 2007 est.) | 2,998,563 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 11% (2003) | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.035% (2007 est.) | 2.91% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) | AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (1,199 km electrified) (2006) |
717 km
standard gauge: 717 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census) | Muslim 100% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.989 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.626 male(s)/female total population: 0.926 male(s)/female (2007 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 (16 years of age, if employed) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: the telecommunications network has improved steadily since the mid-1990s; the number of fixed telephone lines has increased to about 40 per 100 persons; virtually 100 mobile cellular telephones per 100 persons
domestic: more than 90 percent of local lines are digital international: country code - 385; digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project, which consists of 2 fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; the ADRIA-1 submarine cable provides connectivity to Albania and Greece (2007) |
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 | 1.832 million (2006) | 31,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.47 million (2006) | 300,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
Total fertility rate | 1.41 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.8% (2007 est.) | 21% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 785 km (2007) | some ferry traffic on Senegal River (2004) |