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Compare Syria (2001) - Mauritania (2002)
Compare Syria (2001) z Mauritania (2002)
| Syria (2001) | Mauritania (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus | 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:
39.92% (male 3,440,060; female 3,238,576) 15-64 years: 56.87% (male 4,868,816; female 4,644,870) 65 years and over: 3.21% (male 261,036; female 275,450) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.1% (male 653,005; female 650,530)
15-64 years: 51.7% (male 720,473; female 741,094) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 26,251; female 37,505) (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn, dates; cattle, sheep |
| Airports | 100 (2000 est.) | 26 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
24 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 10 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 6 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
76 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
total: 16 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 7 under 914 m: 6 3 (2002) |
| Area | total:
185,180 sq km land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
total: 1,030,700 sq km
land: 1,030,400 sq km water: 300 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico |
| Background | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. | 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 minority population and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber) populace. |
| Birth rate | 30.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$2.25 billion expenditures: $5.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $421 million
expenditures: $378 million, including capital expenditures of $154 million |
| Capital | Damascus | Nouakchott |
| Climate | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically hitting Damascus | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
| Coastline | 193 km | 754 km |
| Constitution | 13 March 1973 | 12 July 1991 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Syrian Arab Republic conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
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 | Syrian pound (SYP) | ouguiya (MRO) |
| Death rate | 5.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.34 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $22 billion (2000 est.) | $1.6 billion (2000) (2000) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-2814 FAX: [963] (11) 224-7938 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John W. LIMBERT
embassy: Rue Abdallaye (between Presidency building and Spanish Embassy), Nouakchott mailing address: BP 222, Nouakchott telephone: [222] 25-26-60, 25-26-63, 25-11-41, 25-11-45 FAX: [222] 25-25-92 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Rustum al-ZU'BI chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamedou Ould MICHEL
chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2623 |
| Disputes - international | Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976 | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | $220 million (2000) (2000) |
| Economy - overview | Syria's predominantly statist economy is on a shaky footing because of Damascus's failure to implement extensive economic reform. The dominant agricultural sector remains underdeveloped, with roughly 80% of agricultural land still dependent on rain-fed sources. Although Syria has sufficient water supplies in the aggregate at normal levels of precipitation, the great distance between major water supplies and population centers poses serious distribution problems. The water problem is exacerbated by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. Private investment is critical to the modernization of the agricultural, energy, and export sectors. Oil production is leveling off, and the efforts of the nonoil sector to penetrate international markets have fallen short. Syria's inadequate infrastructure, outmoded technological base, and weak educational system make it vulnerable to future shocks and hamper competition with neighbors such as Jordan and Israel. The government recognizes the need to open the economy to additional domestic and foreign investment. | Half 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 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. Mauritania withdrew its membership in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2000 and subsequently increased commercial ties with Arab Maghreb Union members Morocco and Tunisia, most notably in telecommunications. In 2001, exploratory oil wells in tracts 80 km offshore indicated potential viable extraction at current world oil prices. However, the refinery in Nouadhibou historically has not exceeded 20% of its distillation capacity, and it handled no crude in the year 2000. A new Investment Code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. |
| Electricity - consumption | 16.684 billion kWh (1999) | 143.22 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 17.94 billion kWh (1999) | 154 million kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
57.64% hydro: 42.36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 84%
hydro: 16% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point: Sebkha de Ndrhamcha -3 m
highest point: Kediet Ijill 910 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining; inadequate supplies of potable water | 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 |
| Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% |
| Exchange rates | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) | ouguiyas per US dollar - 254.350 (December 2001), 238.923 (2000), 209.514 (1999), 188.476 (1998), 151.853 (1997), 137.222 (1996) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Khalid RA'D (since 13 March 2000), Muhammad NAJI 'UTRI (since 13 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died 10 June 2000; 20 June 2000 the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council 25 June 2000 |
chief of state: President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA (since 12 December 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Cheikh 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 Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected with 90.9% of the vote |
| Exports | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $359 million f.o.b. (2000) |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum 65%, textiles 10%, manufactured goods 10%, fruits and vegetables 7%, raw cotton 5%, live sheep 2%, phosphates 1% (1998 est.) | iron ore, fish and fish products, gold |
| Exports - partners | Germany 21%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Saudi Arabia 9%, Turkey 8% (1999 est.) | France 18%, Japan 16%, Italy 13%, Spain 10% (2000) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle 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 - $50.9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
29% industry: 22% services: 49% (1997) |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 29% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 4% (2001 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 20 00 N, 12 00 W |
| Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1999 est.) | 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 (2000 est.) | - |
| Highways | total:
41,451 km paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
total: 7,720 km
paved: 830 km unpaved: 6,890 km (2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 30% (2000) (2000) |
| Illicit drugs | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets | - |
| Imports | $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $335 million f.o.b. (2000) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 23%, foodstuffs/animals 20%, metal and metal products 15%, textiles 10%, chemicals 10% (1998 est.) | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods |
| Imports - partners | France 11%, Italy 8%, Germany 7%, Turkey 5%, China 4% (1999 est.) | France 33%, US 10%, Spain 9%, Algeria 6%, Germany 6%, Benelux 5% (2000) |
| Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 28 November 1960 (from France) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | fish processing, mining of iron ore and gypsum |
| Infant mortality rate | 33.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 75.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 4.4% (2001 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 5 (2001) |
| Irrigated land | 9,060 sq km (1993 est.) | 490 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts |
| Labor force | 4.7 million (1998 est.) | 786,000 (2001) (2001) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) | agriculture 50%, services 40%, industry 10% (2001 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
2,253 km border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 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:
28% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 3% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.48%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 99.51% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Hassaniya Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (official), French |
| Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | a combination of Shari'a (Islamic law) and French civil law |
| Legislative branch | unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, non-NPF 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receive one-half of the seats |
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%, RDF 4%, 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:
68.77 years male: 67.63 years female: 69.98 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 51.53 years
male: 49.42 years female: 53.71 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 41.2% male: 51.5% female: 31.3% (2002 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara |
| Map references | Middle East | Africa |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
41 NM territorial sea: 35 NM |
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 |
| Merchant marine | total:
133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 425,392 GRT/612,097 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 117, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
none (2002) |
| Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Guard, National Police, Presidential Guard |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $37.1 million (FY01) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY98) | 3.7% (FY01) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
4,384,528 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 644,294 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,448,630 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 312,276 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
200,859 (2001 est.) |
- |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Independence Day, 28 November (1960) |
| Nationality | noun:
Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian |
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
| Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil; fish |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km | - |
| Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National Progressive Front after the death of Hafiz al-ASAD on 10 June 2000]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement or ASU [Sami SOUFAN]; Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al-ASAD]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL] | 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 [Mohamed El Hafed Ould ISMAEL]; 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; parties legalized by constitution ratified 12 July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence | 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 | 16,728,808
note: in addition, there are about 38,200 people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 18,200 Arabs (16,500 Druze and 1,700 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2001 est.) |
2,828,858 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 15%-25% | 50% (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.54% (2001 est.) | 2.92% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | Bogue, Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, Rosso |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 14, shortwave 1 (2001) |
| Radios | 4.15 million (1997) | 410,000 (2001) |
| Railways | total:
2,750 km standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2000) |
704 km
standard gauge: 704 km 1.435-m gauge note: owned and operated by government mining company (2001) |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Muslim 100% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
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 |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.313 million (1997) | 26,500 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 35,000 (2001) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (2002) |
| Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
| Total fertility rate | 3.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.15 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 20% (2000 est.) | 21% (1999 est.) |
| Waterways | 870 km (minimal economic importance) | note: ferry traffic on the Senegal River |
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