Mauritania (2001) | Honduras (2005) | |
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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 | 18 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Atlantida, Choluteca, Colon, Comayagua, Copan, Cortes, El Paraiso, Francisco Morazan, Gracias a Dios, Intibuca, Islas de la Bahia, La Paz, Lempira, Ocotepeque, Olancho, Santa Barbara, Valle, Yoro |
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: 40.8% (male 1,452,646/female 1,393,271)
15-64 years: 55.5% (male 1,921,432/female 1,948,656) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 122,146/female 137,053) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep | bananas, coffee, citrus; beef; timber; shrimp |
Airports | 26 (2000 est.) | 115 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2004 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: 104
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 84 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 112,090 sq km
land: 111,890 sq km water: 200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico | slightly larger than Tennessee |
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. | Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. |
Birth rate | 42.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.38 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$329 million expenditures: $265 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $1.467 billion
expenditures: $1.722 billion, including capital expenditures of $106 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Nouakchott | Tegucigalpa |
Climate | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty | subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains |
Coastline | 754 km | 820 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1991 | 11 January 1982, effective 20 January 1982; amended 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 Honduras
conventional short form: Honduras local long form: Republica de Honduras local short form: Honduras |
Currency | ouguiya (MRO) | - |
Death rate | 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.1 billion (1999) | $5.365 billion (September 2004 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 Larry Leon PALMER
embassy: Avenida La Paz, Apartado Postal No. 3453, Tegucigalpa mailing address: American Embassy, APO AA 34022, Tegucigalpa telephone: [504] 238-5114, 236-9320 FAX: [504] 236-9037 |
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 (vacant)
chancery: Suite 4-M, 3007 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-7702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-9751 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco honorary consulate(s): Boston, Detroit, Jacksonville |
Disputes - international | none | in 1992, ICJ ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border, but despite OAS intervention and a further ICJ ruling in 2003, full demarcation of the border remains stalled; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize, but agreed to creation of a joint ecological park and Guatemalan corridor in the Caribbean in the failed 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum, which the OAS is attempting to revive; Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over a complex dispute over islands and maritime boundaries in the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $300 million (1998) | $557.8 million (1999) |
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. | Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, and began a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) program in February 2004. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, on commodity prices, particularly coffee, and on reduction of the high crime rate. |
Electricity - consumption | 140.4 million kWh (1999) | 3.771 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 16 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 415 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 151 million kWh (1999) | 3.626 billion kWh (2002) |
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: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Cerro Las Minas 2,870 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 | urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals |
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, black 2%, white 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) | lempiras per US dollar - 18.206 (2004), 17.345 (2003), 16.433 (2002), 15.474 (2001), 14.839 (2000) |
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 Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (since 27 January 2002); First Vice President Vicente WILLIAMS Agasse (since 27 January 2002); Second Vice President Armida Villela Maria DE LOPEZ Contreras (since 27 January 2002); Third Vice President Alberto DIAZ Lobo (since 27 January 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005) election results: Ricardo (Joest) MADURO (PN) elected president - 52.2%, Raphael PINEDA Ponce (PL) 44.3%, others 3.5% |
Exports | $333 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Exports - commodities | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold | coffee, shrimp, bananas, gold, palm oil, fruit, lobster, lumber |
Exports - partners | Japan 18%, France 17%, Italy 16%, Spain 11% (1998) | US 54.4%, El Salvador 8.1%, Germany 5.9%, Guatemala 5.4% (2004) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with five blue, five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band; the stars represent the members of the former Federal Republic of Central America - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Nicaragua, which features a triangle encircled by the word REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom, centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
25% industry: 31% services: 44% (1997) |
agriculture: 12.7%
industry: 32.1% services: 55.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 4.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 12 00 W | 15 00 N, 86 30 W |
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 | has only a short Pacific coast but a long Caribbean shoreline, including the virtually uninhabited eastern Mosquito Coast |
Highways | total:
7,660 km paved: 866 km unpaved: 6,794 km (1996) |
total: 13,603 km
paved: 2,775 km unpaved: 10,828 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 29.9% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 0.6%
highest 10%: 42.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | $305 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment, industrial raw materials, chemical products, fuels, foodstuffs (2000) |
Imports - partners | France 27%, Benelux 9%, Germany 7%, Spain 7% (1998) | US 37.5%, Guatemala 6.9%, Mexico 5.4%, Costa Rica 4.3%, El Salvador 4% (2004) |
Independence | 28 November 1960 (from France) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.2% (1999) | 7.7% (2003 est.) |
Industries | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum | sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products |
Infant mortality rate | 76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 29.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 7% (2004 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 | ABEDA, BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 490 sq km (1993 est.) | 760 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are elected for seven-year terms by the National Congress) |
Labor force | 750,000 (1999) | 2.47 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 47%, services 39%, industry 14% | agriculture 34%, industry 21%, services 45% (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: 1,520 km
border countries: Guatemala 256 km, El Salvador 342 km, Nicaragua 922 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 4% other: 58% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 9.55%
permanent crops: 3.22% other: 87.23% (2001) |
Languages | Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French | Spanish, Amerindian dialects |
Legal system | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law | rooted in Roman and Spanish civil law with increasing influence of English common law; recent judicial reforms include abandoning Napoleonic legal codes in favor of the oral adversarial system; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 Congress or Congreso Nacional (128 seats; members are elected proportionally to the number of votes their party's presidential candidate receives to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2001 (next to be held 27 November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PN 61, PL 55, PUD 5, PDC 4, PINU-SD 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.14 years male: 49.06 years female: 53.29 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.3 years
male: 67.71 years female: 70.97 years (2005 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: 76.2% male: 76.1% female: 76.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Nicaragua and bordering the Gulf of Fonseca (North Pacific Ocean), between El Salvador and Nicaragua |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
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: natural extension of territory or to 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 598,600 GRT/616,158 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 67, chemical tanker 6, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 44 (Canada 1, China 3, Egypt 1, Greece 4, Hong Kong 2, Israel 1, Japan 4, Lebanon 1, Mexico 1, Singapore 12, South Korea 6, Taiwan 2, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1, United States 2, Vanuatu 1, Vietnam 1) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $41 million (FY97/98) | $100.6 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY97/98) | 1.4% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
624,375 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
302,699 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian |
noun: Honduran(s)
adjective: Honduran |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
Natural resources | iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold | timber, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron ore, antimony, coal, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 |
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Juan Ramon VELAZQUEZ Nassar]; Democratic Unification Party or PUD [Matias FUNES]; Liberal Party or PL [Roberto MICHELETTI Bain]; National Innovation and Unity Party-Social Democratic Party or PINU-SD [Olban F. VALLADARES]; National Party of Honduras or PN [Jose Celin DISCUA Elvir]; United Confederation of Honduran Workers or CUTH |
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] | Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras or CODEH; Confederation of Honduran Workers or CTH; Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations or CCOP; General Workers Confederation or CGT; Honduran Council of Private Enterprise or COHEP; National Association of Honduran Campesinos or ANACH; National Union of Campesinos or UNC; Popular Bloc or BP; United Federation of Honduran Workers or FUTH |
Population | 2,747,312 (July 2001 est.) | 6,975,204
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1996 est.) | 53% (1993 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.93% (2001 est.) | 2.16% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso | Puerto Castilla, Puerto Cortes, San Lorenzo, Tela |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 241, FM 53, shortwave 12 (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: 699 km
narrow gauge: 279 km 1.067-m gauge; 420 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Muslim 100% | Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: inadequate system
domestic: NA international: country code - 504; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26,000 (2000) | 322,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 326,500 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 11 (plus 17 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills | mostly mountains in interior, narrow coastal plains |
Total fertility rate | 6.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 23% (1995 est.) | 28.5% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | note:
ferry traffic on the Senegal River |
465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004) |