Mauritania, today

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Map and information of Mauritania
  
Official Name:

AL-JUMHURIYAH AL-ISLAMIYAH AL-MURITANIYAH (Islamic Republic of Mauritania)

Land Area:1,030,700 sq kilometres / 397,850 sq miles.
Population:3,087,000 (est 2005). Density; 3 persons per square kilometre.
Languages:French (official), Hassaniya Arabic (national), Soninké, Fulfulde, Wolof.
Religions: Muslim 99%.
Capital:Nouakchott. Population 740,000
Currency:Ouguiya, divided into 5 khoums.
Political:

Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara, but controlled by Morocco) in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory.
Opposition parties were legalised and a new constitution approved in 1991. Two multi-party presidential elections since then were widely seen as flawed. Mauritania today remains in reality, a one-party state.
The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between the black minority and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber). Mauritania officially banned slavery in 1981. The government has denied accusations that it is still being practised.

Geography:Much of Mauritania's north and central regions, which takes in the capital, Nouakchott, form part of the western section of the Sahara, while the south contains a region of savanna and small areas of arable land around the Senegal River. The south to south-west draining Senegal River provides Mauritania with its most fertile agricultural land. Only 0.5% of Mauritania is arable land.

National Flag - Ratio 2:3
Position in Africa
Flag of Mauritania, West Africa
Position of Mauritania in West Africa
Climate in Nouakchott - elevation 21m / 70ft
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