Compare Germany (2008) - Mauritania (2005)

Compare Germany (2008) z Mauritania (2005)

	Germany (2008)	Mauritania (2005)

Administrative divisions	16 states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia), Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony), Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen (Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat)	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: 13.9% (male 5,894,724/female 5,590,373) 15-64 years: 66.3% (male 27,811,357/female 26,790,222) 65 years and over: 19.8% (male 6,771,972/female 9,542,348) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 45.8% (male 707,728/female 704,616) 15-64 years: 52% (male 792,589/female 813,763) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 27,560/female 40,603) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry	dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep
Airports	550 (2007)	24 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 331 over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 52 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 135 (2007)	total: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 219 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 181 (2007)	total: 16 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 357,021 sq km land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km	total: 1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Montana	slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico
Background	As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.	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 siezed power in a coup in 1984. 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. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council headed by Col. Ely Ould Mohamed VALL, which declared it would remain in power for up to two years while it created conditions for genuine democratic institutions. For now, however, Mauritania remains, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black population and the Maur (Arab-Berber) populace.
Birth rate	8.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	41.43 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.465 trillion expenditures: $1.477 trillion (2007 est.)	revenues: $421 million expenditures: $378 million, including capital expenditures of $154 million (2002 est.)
Capital	name: Berlin geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 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	temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind	desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty
Coastline	2,389 km	754 km
Constitution	23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united Germany 3 October 1990	12 July 1991
Country name	conventional long form: Federal Republic of Germany conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich	conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania conventional short form: Mauritania local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah
Death rate	10.71 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	12.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$4.489 trillion (30 June 2007)	$2.5 billion (2000)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr. embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy is being built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (030) 2375174 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich	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 Klaus SCHARIOTH chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco	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	none	Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $5.6 billion (1998)	-
Economic aid - recipient	-	$220 million (2000)
Economy - overview	Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world in PPP terms - showed considerable improvement in 2007 with 2.6% growth. After a long period of stagnation with an average growth rate of 0.7% between 2001-05 and chronically high unemployment, stronger growth led to a considerable fall in unemployment to about 8% near the end of 2007. Among the most important reasons for Germany's high unemployment during the past decade were macroeconomic stagnation, the declining level of investment in plant and equipment, company restructuring, flat domestic consumption, structural rigidities in the labor market, lack of competition in the service sector, and high interest rates. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The former government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labor market and welfare-related institutions. The current government of Chancellor Angela MERKEL has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the cyclical upturn in 2006-07 and a 3% rise in the value-added tax pushed Germany's budget deficit well below the EU's 3% debt limit. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could help Germany meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, although some economists continue to argue the need for change in inflexible labor and services markets. Growth may fall below 2% in 2008 as the strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit markets, and slowing growth abroad take their toll.	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 2006. Meantime the government emphasizes reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and promoting privatization of the economy.
Electricity - consumption	545.5 billion kWh (2005)	176.9 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	61.43 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	56.86 billion kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	579.4 billion kWh (2005)	190.2 million kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m	lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m
Environment - current issues	emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive	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-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling 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	German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish)	mixed Maur/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30%
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)	ouguiyas per US dollar - NA(2004), 263.03 (2003), 271.74 (2002), 255.63 (2001), 238.92 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004) head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004 (next scheduled for 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; Bundestag vote for Chancellor last held 22 November 2005 (next will follow the national elections to be held by autumn 2009) election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions	chief of state: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984); note - President TAYA deposed in a coup by the Military Council for Justice and Democracy led by Col. Ely Ould Mohamed VALL on 3 August 2005 head of government: Prime Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould BOUBAKAR (since 8 August 2005) 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	518,700 bbl/day (2004)	NA
Exports - commodities	machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles	iron ore, fish and fish products, gold
Exports - partners	France 9.5%, US 8.7%, UK 7.3%, Italy 6.7%, Netherlands 6.3%, Austria 5.6%, Belgium 5.2%, Spain 4.7% (2006)	Japan 13.1%, France 11%, Spain 9.7%, Germany 9.7%, Italy 9.6%, Belgium 7.5%, China 6.1%, Russia 4.6%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.1% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold	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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.9% industry: 29.6% services: 69.5% (2007 est.)	agriculture: 25% industry: 29% services: 46% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	2.6% (2007 est.)	3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	51 00 N, 9 00 E	20 00 N, 12 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea	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	28 (2007)	-
Highways	-	total: 7,660 km paved: 866 km unpaved: 6,794 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 22.1% (2000)	lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 30.2% (2000)
Illicit drugs	source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center	-
Imports	2.953 million bbl/day (2004)	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals	machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports - partners	Netherlands 11.8%, France 8.5%, Belgium 7.2%, China 5.9%, UK 5.7%, Italy 5.6%, US 5.3%, Austria 4.3% (2006)	France 14.1%, US 7.6%, China 6.4%, Spain 5.8%, UK 4.6%, Germany 4.3%, Belgium 4.2% (2004)
Independence	18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991	28 November 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	2.1% (2007 est.)	2% (2000 est.)
Industries	among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles	fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum
Infant mortality rate	total: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 70.89 deaths/1,000 live births male: 73.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	2% (2007 est.)	7% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	ADB (nonregional members), AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, 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	4,850 sq km (2003)	490 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat)	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts
Labor force	43.63 million (2007 est.)	786,000 (2001)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 2.8% industry: 33.4% services: 63.8% (1999)	agriculture 50%, industry 10%, services 40% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 3,621 km border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 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: 33.13% permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005)	arable land: 0.48% permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.51% (2001)
Languages	German	Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof
Legal system	civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law
Legislative branch	bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (614 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain proportional representation and caucus recognition; to serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block) elections: Bundestag - last held on 18 September 2005 (next to be held no later than autumn 2009); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Bundestag - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%, other 3.9%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 53, Greens 51, independents 2	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 9 and 16 April 2004 (next to be held April 2006); 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 - NA; 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: 78.95 years male: 75.96 years female: 82.11 years (2007 est.)	total population: 52.73 years male: 50.52 years female: 55 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 41.7% male: 51.8% female: 31.9% (2003 est.)
Location	Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara
Map references	Europe	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 382 ships (1000 GRT or over) 12,085,484 GRT/14,261,476 DWT by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 50, chemical tanker 11, container 269, liquefied gas 5, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 26, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 7 (China 2, Finland 4, Ireland 1) registered in other countries: 2,716 (Antigua and Barbuda 891, Australia 2, Bahamas 40, Belgium 1, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 17, Cyprus 197, Denmark 12, Faroe Islands 1, Finland 2, France 1, Georgia 2, Gibraltar 117, Hong Kong 10, Isle of Man 61, Italy 1, Jamaica 1, Liberia 728, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta 67, Marshall Islands 214, Morocco 1, Netherlands 70, Netherlands Antilles 48, Norway 2, NZ 1, Panama 38, Portugal 22, Russia 2, Singapore 18, Spain 9, Sri Lanka 6, St Vincent and The Grenadines 3, Sweden 4, Turkey 1, UK 71, US 6) (2007)	-
Military branches	Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command (Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006)	Mauritanian Armed Forces: Army, Navy (Marine Mauritanienne; includes Naval Infantry), Air Force (Force Aerienne Islamique de Mauritanie, FAIM) (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$20.8 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1.5% (2005 est.)	1.7% (2004)
National holiday	Unity Day, 3 October (1990)	Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Nationality	noun: German(s) adjective: German	noun: Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian
Natural hazards	flooding	hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts
Natural resources	coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land	iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish
Net migration rate	2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
People - note	second most populous country in Europe after Russia	-
Pipelines	condensate 37 km; gas 25,094 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,828 km (2007)	-
Political parties and leaders	Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Erwin HUBER]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE]; Left Party or Die Linke [Lothar BISKY and Oskar LAFONTAINE]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK]	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	business associations and employers' organizations; religious, trade unions, immigrant, expellee, and veterans groups	Arab nationalists; Ba'thists; 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	82,400,996 (July 2007 est.)	3,086,859 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	11% (2001 est.)	40% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.033% (2007 est.)	2.9% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Nouadhibou, Nouakchott
Radio broadcast stations	AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998)	AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 1 (2001)
Railways	total: 48,215 km standard gauge: 47,962 km 1.435-m gauge (20,278 km electrified) narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2006)	717 km standard gauge: 717 km 1.435-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3%	Muslim 100%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.966 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: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2001)	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	54.2 million (2006)	31,500 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	84.3 million (2006)	300,000 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995)	1 (2002)
Terrain	lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south	mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills
Total fertility rate	1.4 children born/woman (2007 est.)	5.94 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	9.1% note: this is the International Labor Organization's estimated rate for international comparisons; Germany's Federal Employment Office estimated a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.8% (2007 est.)	20% (2004 est.)
Waterways	7,467 km note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2006)	some ferry traffic on Senegal River (2004)

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