Mauritania (2001) | Saint Helena (2006) | |
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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 | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
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: 18.8% (male 717/female 692)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 2,751/female 2,593) 65 years and over: 10% (male 342/female 407) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep | coffee, corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, lobster (on Tristan da Cunha) |
Airports | 26 (2000 est.) | 1
note: Wideawake Field on Ascension Island (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
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.) |
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Area | total:
1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
total: 413 sq km
land: Saint Helena Island 122 sq km; Ascension Island 90 sq km; Tristan da Cunha island group 201 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory consisting of Saint Helena and Ascension Islands, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha.
Saint Helena: Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. During the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, several thousand Boer prisoners were confined on the island between 1900 and 1903. Ascension Island: This barren and uninhabited island was discovered and named by the Portuguese in 1503. The British garrisoned the island in 1815 to prevent a rescue of Napoleon from Saint Helena and it served as a provisioning station for the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron on anti-slavery patrol. The island remained under Admiralty control until 1922, when it became a dependency of Saint Helena. During World War II, the UK permitted the US to construct an airfield on Ascension in support of trans-Atlantic flights to Africa and anti-submarine operations in the South Atlantic. In the 1960s the island became an important space tracking station for the US. In 1982, Ascension was an essential staging area for British forces during the Falklands War, and it remains a critical refueling point in the air-bridge from the UK to the South Atlantic. Tristan da Cunha: The island group consists of the islands of Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible, and Gough. Tristan da Cunha is named after its Portuguese discoverer (1506); it was garrisoned by the British in 1816 to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena. Gough and Inaccessible Islands have been designated World Heritage Sites. South Africa leases the site for a meteorological station on Gough Island. |
Birth rate | 42.95 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$329 million expenditures: $265 million, including capital expenditures of $75 million (1996 est.) |
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | Nouakchott | name: Jamestown
geographic coordinates: 15 56 S, 5 44 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty | Saint Helena: tropical marine; mild, tempered by trade winds
Ascension Island: tropical marine; mild, semi-arid Tristan da Cunha: temperate marine; mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
Coastline | 754 km | Saint Helena: 60 km
Ascension Island: NA Tristan da Cunha: 40 km |
Constitution | 12 July 1991 | 1 January 1989 |
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: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
Currency | ouguiya (MRO) | - |
Death rate | 13.65 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.53 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.1 billion (1999) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $300 million (1998) | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
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 economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, raising livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
Electricity - consumption | 140.4 million kWh (1999) | 4.65 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 151 million kWh (1999) | 5 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
82.78% hydro: 17.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m highest point: Kediet Ijill 910 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,062 m; Green Mountain on Ascension Island 859 m; Mount Actaeon on Saint Helena Island 818 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 | NA |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
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) | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.55 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001)
note: the Saint Helenian pound is on par with the British pound |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since 15 October 2004) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, three ex-officio officers, and five elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $333 million (f.o.b., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Japan 18%, France 17%, Italy 16%, Spain 11% (1998) | Tanzania 37.7%, US 17.4%, Japan 15.2%, UK 8.4%, Nigeria 4.8%, Spain 4.5% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
25% industry: 31% services: 44% (1997) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 12 00 W | Saint Helena: 15 57 S 5 42 W
Ascension Island: 7 57 S 14 22 W Tristan da Cunha island group: 37 15 S 12 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 | Saint Helena harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns; Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha is the highest island mountain in the South Atlantic and a prominent landmark on the sea lanes around southern Africa |
Highways | total:
7,660 km paved: 866 km unpaved: 6,794 km (1996) |
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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 bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
Imports - partners | France 27%, Benelux 9%, Germany 7%, Spain 7% (1998) | UK 53.5%, South Africa 14.3%, Spain 10.3%, Tanzania 8.5%, US 4.6% (2005) |
Independence | 28 November 1960 (from France) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.2% (1999) | NA% |
Industries | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing, philatelic sales |
Infant mortality rate | 76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 18.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.96 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 3.2% (1997 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 | ICFTU, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 5 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 490 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts | Magistrate's Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 750,000 (1999) | 2,486
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 47%, services 39%, industry 14% | agriculture: 6%
industry: 48% services: 46% (1987 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
5,074 km border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 38% forests and woodland: 4% other: 58% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2005) |
Languages | Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French | English |
Legal system | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law | British common law and statutes, supplemented by local statutes |
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 Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 August 2005 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 12 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.14 years male: 49.06 years female: 53.29 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.93 years
male: 75.02 years female: 80.98 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.7% male: 53.4% female: 40% (1998 est.) |
definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa; Ascension Island lies 700 nm northwest of Saint Helena; Tristan da Cunha lies 2300 nm southwest of Saint Helena |
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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $41 million (FY97/98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY97/98) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
624,375 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
302,699 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun:
Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian note: referred to locally as "Saints" |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961 |
Natural resources | iron ore, gypsum, fish, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold | fish, lobster |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 |
none |
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] | none |
Population | 2,747,312 (July 2001 est.) | 7,502
note: only Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha islands are inhabited (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.93% (2001 est.) | 0.56% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | Saint Helena: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
Ascension: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (2005) |
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) |
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Religions | Muslim 100% | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age |
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: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic digital network international: country code - 290; international direct dialing; satellite voice and data communications; satellite earth stations - 5 (Ascension Island - 4, Saint Helena - 1) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26,000 (2000) | 2,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 0
note: three television channels are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by UHF (2005) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills | the islands of this group result from volcanic activity associated with the Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge
Saint Helena: rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains Ascension: surface covered by lava flows and cinder cones of 44 dormant volcanoes; ground rises to the east Tristan da Cunha: sheer cliffs line the coastline of the nearly circular island; the flanks of the central volcanic peak are deeply dissected; narrow coastal plain lies between The Peak and the coastal cliffs |
Total fertility rate | 6.22 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.55 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Transportation - note | - | there is no air connection to Saint Helena or Tristan da Cunha; an international airport for Saint Helena is in development for 2010 |
Unemployment rate | 23% (1995 est.) | 14% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | note:
ferry traffic on the Senegal River |
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