Mauritania (2001) | Malawi (2003) | |
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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 | 27 districts; Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Likoma, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba |
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: 46.8% (male 2,748,058; female 2,698,052)
15-64 years: 50.5% (male 2,911,892; female 2,973,723) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 128,722; female 190,792) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; groundnuts, Macadamia nuts; cattle, goats |
Airports | 26 (2000 est.) | 43 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (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: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
Area | total:
1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
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. | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule, the country held multiparty elections in 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year. National multiparty elections were held again in 1999. |
Birth rate | 42.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 44.7 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$329 million expenditures: $265 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $490 million
expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 99/00 est.) |
Capital | Nouakchott | Lilongwe |
Climate | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 754 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 July 1991 | 18 May 1994 |
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 Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | ouguiya (MRO) | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
Death rate | 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.1 billion (1999) | $2.9 billion (2002) |
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 Stephen BROWN
embassy: Area 40, Plot 24, Kenyatta Road mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] (1) 773 166 FAX: [265] (1) 770 471 |
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 Paul Tony Steven KANDIERO
chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007 FAX: [1] (202) 265-0976 |
Disputes - international | none | dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant |
Economic aid - recipient | $300 million (1998) | $540 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. | Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounted for nearly 40% of GDP and 88% of export revenues in 2001. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. In November 2002 the World Bank approved a $50 million drought recovery package, which is to be used for famine relief. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face up to environmental problems, to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS, and to satisfy foreign donors that fiscal discipline is being tightened. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for over 50% of exports. |
Electricity - consumption | 140.4 million kWh (1999) | 715.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 151 million kWh (1999) | 769.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
82.78% hydro: 17.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 3.3%
hydro: 96.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m highest point: Kediet Ijill 910 m |
lowest point: junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m
highest point: Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 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 | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
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) | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 76.69 (2002), 72.2 (2001), 59.54 (2000), 44.09 (1999), 31.07 (1998) |
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 Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 46-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Bakili MULUZI reelected president; percent of vote - Bakili MULUZI (UDF) 51.4%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA (MCP-AFORD) 44.3% |
Exports | $333 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold | tobacco 60%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel |
Exports - partners | Japan 18%, France 17%, Italy 16%, Spain 11% (1998) | US 17.3%, Germany 13.6%, South Africa 10.2%, Egypt 6.2%, Japan 6%, Netherlands 5.5%, Russia 4.8%, UK 4.3% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6.811 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
25% industry: 31% services: 44% (1997) |
agriculture: 37%
industry: 16% services: 47% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 12 00 W | 13 30 S, 34 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 | landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature |
Government - note | - | the executive exerts considerable influence over the legislature |
Highways | total:
7,660 km paved: 866 km unpaved: 6,794 km (1996) |
total: 28,400 km
paved: 5,254 km unpaved: 23,146 km (1999 est.) |
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) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | France 27%, Benelux 9%, Germany 7%, Spain 7% (1998) | South Africa 44.4%, Zambia 12.7%, US 5.6%, India 4.2% (2002) |
Independence | 28 November 1960 (from France) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.2% (1999) | -0.8% (2002 est.) |
Industries | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
Infant mortality rate | 76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 105.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 109.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 100.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 27.4% (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 | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | 3 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 490 sq km (1993 est.) | 280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts | Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts |
Labor force | 750,000 (1999) | 4.5 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 47%, services 39%, industry 14% | agriculture 86% (1997 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: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 4% other: 58% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 19.93%
permanent crops: 1.33% other: 78.74% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally |
Legal system | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law | based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - UDF 48%, MCP 34%, AFORD 15%, others 3%; seats by party - UDF 96, MCP 61, AFORD 30, others 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.14 years male: 49.06 years female: 53.29 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 37.98 years
male: 37.57 years female: 38.39 years (2003 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: 62.7% male: 76.1% female: 49.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara | Southern Africa, east of Zambia |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard | Army (including Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (including paramilitary Mobile Force Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $41 million (FY97/98) | $13.01 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY97/98) | 0.7% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
624,375 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,625,495 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
302,699 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,347,248 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) | Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun:
Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian |
noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 |
Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [John TEMBO, president; Gwanda CHAKUAMBA, vice president]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] - governing party |
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] | National Democratic Alliance [Brown MPINGANJIRA] |
Population | 2,747,312 (July 2001 est.) | 11,651,239
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1996 est.) | 54% (FY 90/91 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.93% (2001 est.) | 2.21% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus a third station held in standby status) (2001) |
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: 797 km
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Muslim 100% | Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 3%, other 2% |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 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: NA
domestic: system employs open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26,000 (2000) | 45,000 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 49,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 6.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.1 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 23% (1995 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | note:
ferry traffic on the Senegal River |
144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall |