Compare Mexico (2004) - Mauritania (2004)

Compare Mexico (2004) z Mauritania (2004)

	Mexico (2004)	Mauritania (2004)

Administrative divisions	31 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas	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
Age structure	0-14 years: 31.6% (male 16,913,290; female 16,228,552) 15-64 years: 62.9% (male 31,975,391; female 34,090,440) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 2,618,713; female 3,133,208) (2004 est.)	0-14 years: 45.9% (male 689,371; female 686,486) 15-64 years: 51.9% (male 767,551; female 788,520) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 27,106; female 39,529) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products	dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep
Airports	1,827 (2003 est.)	24 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 233 over 3,047 m: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 84 914 to 1,523 m: 80 under 914 m: 29 (2004 est.)	total: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 1,600 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 69 914 to 1,523 m: 454 under 914 m: 1,075 (2004 est.)	total: 16 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 1,972,550 sq km land: 1,923,040 sq km water: 49,510 sq km	total: 1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly less than three times the size of Texas	slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico
Background	The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that the opposition defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) was sworn in on 1 December 2000 as the first chief executive elected in free and fair elections.	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 flawed, but October 2001 legislative and municipal elections were generally free and open. Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black population and the dominant Moor (Arab-Berber) populace.
Birth rate	21.44 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)	41.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $148.3 billion expenditures: $152.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)	revenues: $421 million expenditures: $378 million, including capital expenditures of $154 million (2002 est.)
Capital	Mexico (Distrito Federal)	Nouakchott
Climate	varies from tropical to desert	desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty
Coastline	9,330 km	754 km
Constitution	5 February 1917	12 July 1991
Country name	conventional long form: United Mexican States conventional short form: Mexico local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos local short form: Mexico	conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania conventional short form: Mauritania local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah
Currency	Mexican peso (MXN)	ouguiya (MRO)
Death rate	4.73 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)	12.74 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$159.8 billion (2003 est.)	$2.5 billion (2000)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio O. GARZA embassy: Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, 06500 Mexico, Distrito Federal mailing address: P. O. Box 9000, Brownsville, TX 78520-0900 telephone: [52] (55) 5080-2000 FAX: [52] (55) 5525-5040 consulate(s) general: Ciudad Juarez, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana consulate(s): Hermosillo, Matamoros, Merida, Nogales, Nuevo, Laredo	chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph E. LEBARON embassy: 288 Rue Abdallaye (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott mailing address: BP 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 525-2660/525-2663 FAX: [222] 25-25-92
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Carlos Alberto de ICAZA Gonzalez chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 728-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 728-1698 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Houston, Laredo (Texas), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Nogales (Arizona), Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan (Puerto Rico) consulate(s): Albuquerque, Brownsville (Texas), Calexico (California), Del Rio (Texas), Detroit, Douglas (Arizona), Eagle Pass (Texas), Fresno (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Kansas City (Missouri), Las Vegas, McAllen (Texas), Omaha, Orlando, Oxnard (California), Philadelphia, Portland (Oregon), Presidio (Texas), Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Santa Ana (California), Seattle, Tucson, Yuma (Arizona)	chief of mission: Ambassador Tijani Ould KERIM chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700, 5701 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623
Disputes - international	prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region have strained water-sharing arrangements with the US; nationals from Central America slip into Mexico seeking work or transit into the US; undocumented Mexican nationals continue to enter the United States	Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years
Economic aid - recipient	$1.166 billion (1995)	$220 million (2000)
Economy - overview	Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Real GDP growth was a weak -0.3% in 2001, 0.9% in 2002, and 1.2% in 2003, with the US slowdown the principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the European Free Trade Area in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The government is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and provide incentives to invest in the energy sector, but progress is slow.	Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and 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 nearly 40% 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 resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In February 2000, Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and in December 2001 received strong support from donor and lending countries at a triennial Consultative Group review. In 2001, exploratory oil wells in tracts 80 km offshore indicated potential extraction at current world oil prices. A new investment code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. Ongoing negotiations with the IMF involve problems of economic reforms and fiscal discipline. Substantial oil production and exports probably will not begin until 2005. Meantime the government emphasizes reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and promoting privatization of the economy.
Electricity - consumption	186.7 billion kWh (2001)	146.3 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	77 million kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	2.068 billion kWh (2001)	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	198.6 billion kWh (2001)	157.4 million kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m	lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m
Environment - current issues	scarcity of hazardous waste disposal facilities; rural to urban migration; natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; deteriorating agricultural lands; serious air and water pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border; land subsidence in Valley of Mexico caused by groundwater depletion note: the government considers the lack of clean water and deforestation national security 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; locust infestation
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%	mixed Maur/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30%
Exchange rates	Mexican pesos per US dollar - 10.789 (2003), 9.656 (2002), 9.3423 (2001), 9.4556 (2000), 9.5604 (1999)	ouguiyas per US dollar - NA (2003), 271.739 (2002), 255.629 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held 2 July 2006) election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%	chief of state: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Sghair Ould M'BARECK (since 6 July 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 7 November 2003 (next to be held NA 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected for a third term with 60.8% of the vote
Exports	1.881 million bbl/day (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton	iron ore, fish and fish products, gold
Exports - partners	US 87.6%, Canada 1.8%, Germany 1.2% (2003)	Japan 12.5%, France 12.1%, Spain 11.4%, Italy 10.4%, Belgium 7.8%, Germany 7.4%, Russia 5%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.2%, Netherlands 4% (2003)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; the coat of arms (an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its beak) is centered in the white band	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
GDP	purchasing power parity - $941.2 billion (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $5.195 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 4% industry: 26.4% services: 69.6% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 25% industry: 29% services: 46% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2003 est.)	purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.3% (2003 est.)	4.5% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	23 00 N, 102 00 W	20 00 N, 12 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location on southern border of US; corn (maize), one of the world's major grain crops, is thought to have originated in Mexico	most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country
Heliports	2 (2003 est.)	-
Highways	total: 329,532 km paved: 108,087 km (including 6,429 km of expressways) unpaved: 221,445 km (1999 est.)	total: 7,720 km paved: 830 km unpaved: 6,890 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 35.6% (2002)	lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 30.2% (2000)
Illicit drugs	illicit cultivation of opium poppy (cultivation in 2001 - 4,400 hectares; potential heroin production - 7 metric tons) and of cannabis (in 2001 - 4,100 hectares); government eradication efforts have been key in keeping illicit crop levels low; major supplier of heroin and largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the US market; continues as the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, accounting for about 70 percent of estimated annual cocaine movement to the US; major drug syndicates control majority of drug trafficking throughout the country; producer and distributor of ecstasy; significant money-laundering center	-
Imports	374,700 bbl/day (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts	machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports - partners	US 61.8%, China 5.5%, Japan 4.5% (2003)	France 16.8%, Spain 7.7%, China 6.3%, Belgium 5.1%, Germany 4.9%, Japan 4.3%, UK 4.1%, US 4% (2003)
Independence	16 September 1810 (from Spain)	28 November 1960 (from France)
Industrial production growth rate	-0.7% (2003 est.)	2% (2000 est.)
Industries	food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism	fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum
Infant mortality rate	total: 21.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 23.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)	total: 72.35 deaths/1,000 live births male: 75.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4.5% (2003 est.)	7% (2003 est.)
International organization participation	APEC, BCIE, BIS, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, FAO, G-3, G-6, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM (observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	65,000 sq km (1998 est.)	490 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court of Justice or Suprema Corte de Justicia Nacional (justices or ministros are appointed by the president with consent of the Senate)	Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts
Labor force	34.11 million (2003)	786,000 (2001)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 18%, industry 24%, services 58% (2003)	agriculture 50%, industry 10%, services 40% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 4,353 km border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,141 km	total: 5,074 km border countries: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western Sahara 1,561 km
Land use	arable land: 12.99% permanent crops: 1.31% other: 85.7% (2001)	arable land: 0.48% permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.51% (2001)
Languages	Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages	Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof
Legal system	mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law
Legislative branch	bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held 2 July 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 July 2003 (next to be held 2 July 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 60, PAN 46, PRD 16, PVEM 5, unassigned 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 222, PAN 151, PRD 95, PVEM 17, PT 6, CD 5, unassigned 4; note - special elections were held in December 2003; the PRI and the PRD each won one seat and were each assigned one additional proportional representation seat	bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats, a part of the seats up for election every two years; members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (81 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2002 (next to be held NA April 2004); National Assembly - last held 19 and 26 October 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRDS 54, RFD 1, UNDD 1; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - PRDS 79%, RDU 3.5%, UDP 3.5%, AC 5%, UFP 3.5%, FP 1.5%; seats by party - PRDS 64, UDP 3, RDU 3, AC 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, and FP 1
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 74.94 years male: 72.18 years female: 77.83 years (2004 est.)	total population: 52.32 years male: 50.15 years female: 54.56 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.2% male: 94% female: 90.5% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 41.7% male: 51.8% female: 31.9% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US	Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara
Map references	North America	Africa
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	total: 50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 649,389 GRT/942,766 DWT by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 5, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea/passenger 3 foreign-owned: Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 1, Marshall Islands 1, Netherlands 2 registered in other countries: 13 (2004 est.)	none
Military branches	National Defense Secretariat (Sedena) (including Army and Air Force), Navy Secretariat (including Naval Air and Marines)	Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard (BSSP)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$5,168.3 million (2003)	$40.8 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.9% (2003)	3.7% (2003)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 27,374,153 (2004 est.)	males age 15-49: 686,629 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 19,755,614 (2004 est.)	males age 15-49: 332,633 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 1,055,368 (2004 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 16 September (1810)	Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Nationality	noun: Mexican(s) adjective: Mexican	noun: Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian
Natural hazards	tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts	hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts
Natural resources	petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber	iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish
Net migration rate	-4.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	crude oil 28,200 km; petroleum products 10,150 km; natural gas 13,254 km; petrochemical 1,400 km (2003)	-
Political parties and leaders	Convergence for Democracy or CD [Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI [Roberto MADRAZO Pintado]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM [Jorge Emilio GONZALEZ Martinez]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Leonel GODOY]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]	Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Alliance for Justice and Democracy or AJD [Kebe ABDOULAYE]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President 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 [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]; Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]; Rally for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS] note: the Action for Change party was banned in January 2002 although its members were permitted to keep their seats in the National Assembly; parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based
Political pressure groups and leaders	Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM; Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO; Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE; Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES; National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA; National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM; Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman Catholic Church	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]
Population	104,959,594 (July 2004 est.)	2,998,563 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	40% (2003 est.)	50% (2001 est.)
Population growth rate	1.18% (2004 est.)	2.91% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors	Acapulco, Altamira, Bahias de Huatulco, Cabo San Lucas, Coatzacoalcos, Dos Bocas, Ensenada, Guaymas, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Puerto Progreso, Puerto Madero, Puerto Vallarta, Salina Cruz, Tampico, Topolobampo, Tuxpan, Veracruz (2003)	Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso
Radio broadcast stations	AM 850, FM 545, shortwave 15 (2003)	AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 1 (2001)
Railways	total: 19,510 km standard gauge: 19,510 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)	717 km standard gauge: 717 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)
Religions	nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5%	Muslim 100%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)	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: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: low telephone density with about 15.2 main lines per 100 persons; privatized in December 1990; the opening to competition in January 1997 improved prospects for development, but Telemex remains dominant domestic: adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable international: country code - 52; satellite earth stations - 32 Intelsat, 2 Solidaridad (giving Mexico improved access to South America, Central America, and much of the US as well as enhancing domestic communications), numerous Inmarsat mobile earth stations; linked to Central American Microwave System of trunk connections; high capacity Columbus-2 fiber-optic submarine cable with access to the US, Virgin Islands, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spain, and Italy (1997)	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: country code - 222; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 2 Arabsat
Telephones - main lines in use	15,958,700 (2003)	31,500 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	28.125 million (2003)	300,000 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	236 (plus repeaters) (1997)	1 (2002)
Terrain	high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert	mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills
Total fertility rate	2.49 children born/woman (2004 est.)	6.01 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	3.3% plus underemployment of perhaps 25% (2003)	21% (1999 est.)
Waterways	2,900 km note: navigable rivers and coastal canals (2004)	some ferry traffic on Senegal River (2004)

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