Reunion (2006) | Mauritania (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 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: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 45.6% (male 726,376/female 723,013)
15-64 years: 52.2% (male 818,408/female 839,832) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 28,042/female 41,717) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 25 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 1,030,700 sq km
land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984. 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. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council headed by Col. Ely Ould Mohamed VALL, which declared it would remain in power for up to two years while it created conditions for genuine democratic institutions and organized elections. For now, however, Mauritania remains an autocratic state, and the country continues to experience ethnic tensions among its black population and different Moor (Arab-Berber) communities. |
Birth rate | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 40.99 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $421 million
expenditures: $378 million; including capital expenditures of $154 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Nouakchott
geographic coordinates: 18 06 N, 15 57 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
Coastline | 207 km | 754 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 12 July 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
conventional short form: Mauritania local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah local short form: Muritaniyah |
Death rate | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.16 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2.5 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Steven KOUTSIS
embassy: 288 Rue Abdallaye (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott mailing address: BP 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 525-2660/525-2663 FAX: [222] 525-1592 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Tijani Ould Mohamed EL KERIM
chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700, 5701 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623 |
Disputes - international | none | Mauritanian claims to Western Sahara have been dormant in recent years |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) | $305.7 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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 which now stands at more than three times the level of annual exports. 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. 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. In 2001, exploratory oil wells in tracts 80 km offshore indicated potential extraction at current world oil prices. Mauritania has an estimated 1 billion barrels of proved reserves. Substantial oil production and exports are scheduled to begin in early 2006 and may average 75,000 barrels per day for that year. Meantime the government emphasizes reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and promoting privatization of the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) | 172.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) | 185.6 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m
highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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, 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 | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | mixed Maur/black 40%, Moor 30%, black 30% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | ouguiyas per US dollar - NA (2005), NA (2004), 263.03 (2003), 271.74 (2002), 255.63 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
chief of state: Col. Ely Ould Mohamed VALL, whose Military Council for Justice and Democracy deposed longtime President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA in a coup on 3 August 2005
head of government: Prime Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould BOUBAKAR (since 8 August 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); note - passage of a constitutional reform referendum in July 2006 limits president to two five-year terms; election last held 7 November 2003 (next to be held 11 March 2007); 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 | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) | Italy 14.9%, Japan 12.3%, France 11.8%, Belgium 8.5%, Germany 8.3%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.2%, Spain 6.5%, Russia 5%, Netherlands 4.4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 29% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2005 est.) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 20 00 N, 12 00 W |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | most of the population concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 30.2% (2000) |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) | France 18.5%, UK 7.2%, US 7%, China 6%, Spain 5%, Belgium 4.3% (2005) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 28 November 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 69.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 72.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 66.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 7% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | InOC, UPU, WFTU | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 490 sq km (2002) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts |
Labor force | 299,000 (2002) | 786,000 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
agriculture: 50%
industry: 10% services: 40% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
arable land: 0.2%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.79% (2005) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof |
Legal system | French law | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats; a portion of 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 (95 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 9 and 16 April 2004 (next to be held 21 January 2007); National Assembly - last held 19 November and 3 December 2006 election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 53.12 years
male: 50.88 years female: 55.42 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 41.7% male: 51.8% female: 31.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara |
Map references | World | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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 | registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) | Mauritanian Armed Forces: Army, Navy (Marine Mauritanienne; includes naval infantry), Air Force (Force Aerienne Islamique de Mauritanie, FAIM) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $19.32 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP | Action for Change or AC (no longer active) [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Alliance for Justice and Democracy or AJD [Cisse Amadou CHEIKHOU]; National Union for Democracy and Development or UNDD [Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality, and Justice or PLEJ [Ba Mamdou ALASSANE]; Party of Democratic Convergence or PCD [Cheikh Ould HORMA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progressive Alliance or APP [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Progress Force Union or UFP (no longer active) [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]; Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH]; Rally for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal or PRDR (formerly ruling Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS) [Boullah Ould MOGUEYA]; Right Way or SAWAB [Cheikh Ould Sidi Ould HANANA]; Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]; Union of Forces of Progress or UFP [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]
note: the Party of Democratic Convergence was banned in October 2005 because it was regarded as Islamist and therefore in breach of Mauritanian law |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Arab nationalists; Ba'thists; 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 | 787,584 (July 2006 est.) | 3,177,388 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.34% (2006 est.) | 2.88% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | - | 717 km
standard gauge: 717 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Muslim 100% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
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 | 300,000 (2001) | 41,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 579,200 (2004) | 745,600 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5.86 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 31% (2002) | 20% (2004 est.) |