Mauritania (2001) | Equatorial Guinea (2002) | |
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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 | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
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: 42.4% (male 106,061; female 105,071)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 128,489; female 139,732) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,385; female 10,406) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 26 (2000 est.) | 3 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total:
1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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. | Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. The tiny country, one of the smallest on the African continent, has been ruled by President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. |
Birth rate | 42.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$329 million expenditures: $265 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Nouakchott | Malabo |
Climate | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 754 km | 296 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1991 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
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: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | ouguiya (MRO) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.1 billion (1999) | $225 million (2000 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 George McDade STAPLES; note - the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo |
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 Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 |
Disputes - international | none | tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Cameroon and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ; maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $300 million (1998) | $33.8 million (1995) (1995) |
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. | The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Boosts in production and higher world oil prices stimulated growth in 2002, with oil accounting for 90% of increased exports. |
Electricity - consumption | 140.4 million kWh (1999) | 20.46 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 151 million kWh (1999) | 22 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
82.78% hydro: 17.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 91%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m highest point: Kediet Ijill 910 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 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 | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
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) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
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 Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
Exports | $333 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold | petroleum, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Japan 18%, France 17%, Italy 16%, Spain 11% (1998) | China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 January - 31 December |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
25% industry: 31% services: 44% (1997) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 12 00 W | 2 00 N, 10 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 | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | total:
7,660 km paved: 866 km unpaved: 6,794 km (1996) |
total: 2,880 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 29.9% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $305 million (f.o.b., 1999) | $736 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods | petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment |
Imports - partners | France 27%, Benelux 9%, Germany 7%, Spain 7% (1998) | US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 28 November 1960 (from France) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.2% (1999) | 7.4% (1994 est.) |
Industries | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | 76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 6% (2001 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 490 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 750,000 (1999) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 47%, services 39%, industry 14% | - |
Land boundaries | total:
5,074 km border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km |
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 4% other: 58% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
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 House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: opposition parties have refused to take up their seats in the House to protest widespread irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.14 years male: 49.06 years female: 53.29 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 54.35 years
male: 52.26 years female: 56.5 years (2002 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: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
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 |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,413 GRT/16,251 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $41 million (FY97/98) | $27.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY97/98) | 2.5% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
624,375 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 112,664 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
302,699 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 57,194 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
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 |
Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
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] | NA |
Population | 2,747,312 (July 2001 est.) | 498,144 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.93% (2001 est.) | 2.45% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Radios | 360,000 (1997) | 180,000 (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: 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 100% | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
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: poor system with adequate government services
domestic: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26,000 (2000) | 6,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 6.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 23% (1995 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | note:
ferry traffic on the Senegal River |
none |