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Compare Mauritania (2001) - China (2004)

Compare Mauritania (2001) z China (2004)

 Mauritania (2001)China (2004)
 MauritaniaChina
Administrative divisions 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 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)

provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang

autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet)

municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin


note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Age structure 0-14 years:
46.14% (male 634,940; female 632,654)

15-64 years:
51.59% (male 698,433; female 718,883)

65 years and over:
2.27% (male 25,840; female 36,562) (2001 est.)
0-14 years: 22.3% (male 153,401,051; female 135,812,993)


15-64 years: 70.3% (male 469,328,664; female 443,248,860)


65 years and over: 7.5% (male 46,308,923; female 50,747,133) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish
Airports 26 (2000 est.) 507 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total:
8

2,438 to 3,047 m:
3

1,524 to 2,437 m:
5 (2000 est.)
total: 332


over 3,047 m: 49


2,438 to 3,047 m: 97


1,524 to 2,437 m: 129


914 to 1,523 m: 22


under 914 m: 35 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
18

2,438 to 3,047 m:
2

1,524 to 2,437 m:
4

914 to 1,523 m:
9

under 914 m:
3 (2000 est.)
total: 175


over 3,047 m: 23


2,438 to 3,047 m: 10


1,524 to 2,437 m: 36


914 to 1,523 m: 40


under 914 m: 66 (2003 est.)
Area total:
1,030,700 sq km

land:
1,030,400 sq km

water:
300 sq km
total: 9,596,960 sq km


land: 9,326,410 sq km


water: 270,550 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico slightly smaller than the US
Background 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 being flawed; Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black minority population and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber) populace. For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
Birth rate 42.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 12.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues:
$329 million

expenditures:
$265 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1996 est.)
revenues: $265.8 billion


expenditures: $300.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003)
Capital Nouakchott Beijing
Climate desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Coastline 754 km 14,500 km
Constitution 12 July 1991 most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Country name conventional long form:
Islamic Republic of Mauritania

conventional short form:
Mauritania

local long form:
Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah

local short form:
Muritaniyah
conventional long form: People's Republic of China


conventional short form: China


local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo


local short form: Zhong Guo


abbreviation: PRC
Currency ouguiya (MRO) yuan (CNY)


note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
Death rate 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 6.92 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $2.1 billion (1999) $197.8 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission:
Ambassador John W. LIMBERT

embassy:
Rue Abdallaye, Nouakchott

mailing address:
B. P. 222, Nouakchott

telephone:
[222] 25-26-60, 25-26-63

FAX:
[222] 25-15-92
chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.


embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing


mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002


telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831


FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929


consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission:
Ambassador Ahmed Ben Khalifa BEN JIDOU

chancery:
2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:
[1] (202) 232-5700

FAX:
[1] (202) 319-2623
chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi


chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500


FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582


consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
Disputes - international none involved in complex dispute with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; most of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but the two sides are committed to begin resolution with discussions on the least disputed Middle Sector; Kashmir remains the world's largest and highly militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas), but recent discussion and confidence-building measures among parties are beginning to defuse tensions, India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding lands to China in a 1964 boundary agreement; China and Taiwan continue to assert their claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) with increased media coverage and protest actions; certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in an uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is indefinite - China has been attempting to manage illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; China and Russia in 2004 resolved their last border dispute over islands in the Amur and Argun Rivers, but details on demarcation have not yet been worked-out; boundary delimitation agreements signed in 2002 with Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China's relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km, but demarcation has not commenced; agreements with Vietnam demarcating maritime boundaries and fisheries cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin were ratified in June, and demarcation of the land boundary continues; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; in response to groups in Burma and Thailand expressing concern over China's plans to construct 13 hydroelectric dams on the Nu River in Yunnan Province (Salween River in Burma), Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao suspended the project to conduct an environmental impact assessment, a smaller scale version of only 4 dams is now scheduled to move forward
Economic aid - recipient $300 million (1998) NA
Economy - overview 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. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for half 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 have resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In March 1999, the government signed an agreement with a joint World Bank-IMF mission on a $54 million enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF). Mauritania withdrew its membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2000. Privatization and debt relief are in full swing, and the rate of economic growth appears to be accelerating, especially in the construction, telecommunication, and information sectors. Diamonds and petroleum are beginning to be explored and exploited. In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, inefficient, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2003 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still poor. Agriculture and industry have posted major gains especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong, opposite Taiwan, and in Shanghai, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (growing income disparities and rising unemployment). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) sustain adequate jobs growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work force; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water supply and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen its ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic growth. Growing shortages of electric power and raw materials will hold back the expansion of industrial output in 2004.
Electricity - consumption 140.4 million kWh (1999) 1.312 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1999) 10.3 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1999) 1.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 151 million kWh (1999) 1.42 trillion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:
82.78%

hydro:
17.22%

nuclear:
0%

other:
0% (1999)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point:
Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m

highest point:
Kediet Ijill 910 m
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Environment - current issues 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 air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
Environment - international agreements party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, 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
Ethnic groups mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Exchange rates ouguiyas per US dollar - 250.870 (December 2000), 238.923 (2000), 209.514 (1999), 188.476 (1998), 151.853 (1997), 137.222 (1996) yuan per US dollar - 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999)
Executive branch chief of state:
President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)

head of government:
Prime Minister Cheik El Avia Ould Mohamed KHOUNA (since 17 November 1998)

cabinet:
Council of Ministers

elections:
president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held NA December 2003); prime minister appointed by the president

election results:
President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected with 90.9% of the vote
chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)


head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003)


cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)


elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress


election results: HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant
Exports $333 million (f.o.b., 1999) 151,200 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities iron ore, fish and fish products, gold machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods, mineral fuels
Exports - partners Japan 18%, France 17%, Italy 16%, Spain 11% (1998) US 21.1%, Hong Kong 17.4%, Japan 13.6%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4% (2003)
Fiscal year calendar year calendar year
Flag description 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 red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
GDP purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $6.449 trillion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
25%

industry:
31%

services:
44% (1997)
agriculture: 14.8%


industry and construction: 52.9%


services: 32.3% (2003)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5% (2000 est.) 9.1% (official data) (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 20 00 N, 12 00 W 35 00 N, 105 00 E
Geography - note most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak;
Heliports - 15 (2003 est.)
Highways total:
7,660 km

paved:
866 km

unpaved:
6,794 km (1996)
total: 1,402,698 km


paved: 314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways)


unpaved: 1,088,494 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
2.3%

highest 10%:
29.9% (1995)
lowest 10%: 2.4%


highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)
Illicit drugs - major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine
Imports $305 million (f.o.b., 1999) 1.207 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals
Imports - partners France 27%, Benelux 9%, Germany 7%, Spain 7% (1998) Japan 18%, Taiwan 11.9%, South Korea 10.4%, US 8.2%, Germany 5.9% (2003)
Independence 28 November 1960 (from France) 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established)
Industrial production growth rate 2.2% (1999) 30.4% (2003 est.)
Industries fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate 76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 25.28 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 21.84 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 29.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 4.5% (2000 est.) 1.2% (2003 est.)
International organization participation ABEDA, ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 5 (2000) -
Irrigated land 490 sq km (1993 est.) 525,800 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)
Labor force 750,000 (1999) 778.1 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 47%, services 39%, industry 14% agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries total:
5,074 km

border countries:
Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km
total: 22,117 km


border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km


regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km
Land use arable land:
0%

permanent crops:
0%

permanent pastures:
38%

forests and woodland:
4%

other:
58% (1993 est.)
arable land: 15.4%


permanent crops: 1.25%


other: 83.36% (2001)
Languages Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
Legal system a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
Legislative branch bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats; 17 up for election every two years; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (79 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections:
Senate - last held 17 April 1998 (next to be held NA 2001); National Assembly - last held 11 and 18 October 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)

election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRDS 71, AC 1, independents and other 7
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held late 2007-February 2008)


election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA
Life expectancy at birth total population:
51.14 years

male:
49.06 years

female:
53.29 years (2001 est.)
total population: 71.96 years


male: 70.4 years


female: 73.72 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition:
age 15 and over can read and write

total population:
46.7%

male:
53.4%

female:
40% (1998 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 90.9%


male: 95.1%


female: 86.5% (2002)
Location Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Map references Africa Asia
Maritime claims contiguous zone:
24 NM

continental shelf:
200 NM or to the edge 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 none (2000 est.) total: 1,850 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,724,653 GRT/27,749,784 DWT


by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 355, cargo 822, chemical tanker 28, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 165, liquefied gas 28, multi-functional large load carrier 8, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 46, petroleum tanker 272, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 25, short-sea/passenger 39, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 4


foreign-owned: Cambodia 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 12, Japan 1, South Korea 2, Liberia 1, Malaysia 1, Panama 1, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1


registered in other countries: 790 (2004 est.)
Military branches Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard People's Liberation Army (PLA): comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia
Military expenditures - dollar figure $41 million (FY97/98) $60 billion (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.7% (FY97/98) 3.5-5.0% (FY03 est.)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49:
624,375 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 379,524,688 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49:
302,699 (2001 est.)
males age 15-49: 208,143,352 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 12,494,201 (2004 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 28 November (1960) Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Nationality noun:
Mauritanian(s)

adjective:
Mauritanian
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)


adjective: Chinese
Natural hazards hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Natural resources iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines - gas 15,890 km; oil 14,478 km; refined products 3,280 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Assembly for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President Col. 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 [Mohamed El Hafed Ould ISMAEL]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould MOLOUD]; Union for Progress and Democracy or UNDD [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]

note:
parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991; however, politics continue to be tribally based
Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP
Political pressure groups and leaders 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] no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups
Population 2,747,312 (July 2001 est.) 1,298,847,624 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 50% (1996 est.) 10% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate 2.93% (2001 est.) 0.57% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001)
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Radios 360,000 (1997) -
Railways total:
750 km (single track); note - owned and operated by government mining company

standard gauge:
750 km 1.435-m gauge (1995)
total: 70,058 km


standard gauge: 68,000 km 1.435-m gauge (18,668 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 3,600 km 1.000-m and 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines


dual gauge: 22,640 km (not included in total) (2003)
Religions Muslim 100% Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%


note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Sex ratio 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:
0.71 male(s)/female

total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female


total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system 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:
satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 Arabsat
general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns


domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place


international: country code - 86; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use 26,000 (2000) 263 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular NA 269 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations 1 (1997) 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Terrain mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Total fertility rate 6.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) 1.69 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 23% (1995 est.) 10.1% urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2003 est.)
Waterways note:
ferry traffic on the Senegal River
121,557 km (2002)
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