Reuters AlertNet - Mauritania

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Mauritania

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BASIC FACTS

Capital
Nouakchott

Area size
1025220 sq. km

Area comparison
Slightly smaller than Scandinavia

PEOPLE

Language
Arabic and French are the official languages. Mauritania's Moors speak Bassanya, an Arab dialect; Fulani and Sarakole are also spoken in the south.
Source: New Internationalist World Guide

Population

2007	3.1 million	U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Population Division (2006)
2006	3.0 million	U.N. DESA (2006)
2005	3.0 million	U.N. DESA (2006)
2004	2.9 million	U.N. DESA (2006)
2003	2.8 million	U.N. DESA (2006)
2002	2.7 million	U.N. DESA (2006)
2001	2.6 million	U.N. DESA (2006)
2000	2.6 million	U.N. DESA (2006)

Future population estimates
4.8 million (2050)
Source: U.N. DESA (2006)

Ethnic groups
Moors of Arab-Berber origin form about 70 percent of the population. Most black African inhabitants are from the Fulani and Soninke ethnic groups.
Source: NI World Guide

Religion
Islam is the official and predominant religion (99.5 percent Sunni).
Source: NI World Guide

Percentage urban population

2007	40.7 percent	U.N. DESA - World Urbanisation Prospects 2005
2006	40.6 percent	U.N. DESA (2005)
2005	40.4 percent	U.N. DESA (2005)
2004	40.3 percent	U.N. DESA (2005)
2003	40.2 percent	U.N. DESA (2005)
2002	40.1 percent	U.N. DESA (2005)
2001	40.0 percent	U.N. DESA (2005)
2000	40.0 percent	U.N. DESA (2005)

Year women granted right to vote
1961
Source: U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report
Where two figures are shown, the first refers to a partial recognition of the right to vote and the second to the year women received the right to vote on a universal and equal basis.

Net percentage of girls enrolled in primary education
72 (2005)
Source: U.N. Educational

Percentage of population under 15

2004	43.1 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	43.1 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	43.2 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	43.2 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	44.1 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

USEFUL INFORMATION

Time zone
GMT

Climate description
Hot and dry, particularly in the north which is mainly desert

Currency
Ouguiya

Telephone dialling code
(+) 222

Driving (left/right)
Right

STANDARD OF LIVING

Average life expectancy

2004	53.1 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	52.7 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	52.3 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	51.9 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	51.5 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Life expectancy - male

2004	51.5 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	51.1 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	50.7 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	50.3 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	49.9 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Life expectancy - female

2004	54.7 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	54.3 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	53.9 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	53.5 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	75.3 years	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Infant mortality

2005	78 per 1,000 live births	U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) - State of the World's Children 2007
2004	78 per 1,000 live births	UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2006
2003	120 per 1,000 live births	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	120 per 1,000 live births	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	17 per 1,000 live births	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	17 per 1,000 live births	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Child mortality - deaths before the age of five

2005	125 per 1,000 live births	UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2007
2004	15 per 1,000 live births	UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2006

Births attended by skilled personnel

1996-2004	57 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
1995-2003	57 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
1995-2002	57 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
1995-2001	53 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
1995-2000	No data available percent

Maternal mortality
1000 per 100,000 live births (2000)
Source: UNDP - Human Development Report 2006

Human development index (HDI rank)

2004	153	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	152	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	152	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	154	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	152	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Percentage of children under weight for age (under age 5)

1996-2005	32 percent	UNICEF - State of the World's Children 2007
1996-2004	No data available percent
1995-2003	32 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
1995-2002	15 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
1995-2000	6 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Percentage of undernourished population

2002-2004 average	10 percent	U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) 2006
2001-2003average	10 percent	FAO 2006

Food intake falls below the minimum requirement.

Population with access to improved water

2004	53 percent	UNICEF and World Health Organisation (WHO) 2006
2002	56 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2000	37 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004

Population with access to improved sanitation

2004	34 percent	UNICEF and WHO 2006
2002	42 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005

Literacy - average

2004	51.2 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	51.2 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	41.2 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	40.7 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	40.2 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Literacy - male

2004	59.5 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	59.5 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	51.5 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	51.1 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	50.7 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Literacy - female

2004	43.4 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	43.4 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2002	31.3 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2001	30.7 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003
2000	30.1 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2002

Landlines telephones

2005	13 per 1,000 people	International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2006
2004	13 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2003	14 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2002	12 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2001	10 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2000	7 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006

Cellular telephone subscribers

2005	243 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2004	175 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2003	128 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2002	92 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2001	42 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2000	6 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006

Internet users

2005	5 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2004	5 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2003	4 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2002	4 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2001	3 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006
2000	2 per 1,000 people	ITU 2006

Transparency International corruption ranking (1=least corrupt, 145=most corrupt)
84 (joint) (2006)
Source: Transparency International

Signatory of International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment for the crime of Genocide
No (1948)
Source: UNDP - Human Development Report

Signatory of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Yes (1984)
Source: UNDP - Human Development Report

Signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Yes (1989)
Source: UNDP - Human Development Report

ECONOMY & AID

International humanitarian aid flows
Access the Financial Tracking Service, a global real-time database which records all reported humanitarian aid - including that for NGOs, the Red Cross/Crescent Movement, bilateral aid, in-kind aid and private donations - searchable by country.
Source: Financial Tracking Service, ReliefWeb

Percentage of population living on less than US$1 a day

1990-2004	25.9 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
1990-2003	25.9 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
1990-2002	25.9 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
1990-2001	28.6 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003

GNI per capita, Atlas method

2005	580 current US$	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2004	510 current US$	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2003	450 current US$	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2002	440 current US$	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2001	410 current US$	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2000	460 current US$	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007

The purpose of the Atlas conversion factor is to reduce the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in a cross-country comparison of national incomes. The Atlas conversion factor for any year is the average of a country�s exchange rate (or alternative conversion factor) for that year and its exchange rates for the two preceding years.

GDP

2005	1.9 current US$ billions	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2004	1.5 current US$ billions	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2006
2003	1.3 current US$ billions	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2006
2002	1.1 current US$ billions	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2001	1.1 current US$ billions	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2006
2000	1.1 current US$ billions	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007

Annual GDP growth

2005	5.4 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2004	5.2 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2003	5.6 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2002	1.1 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2001	2.9 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2000	1.9 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007

Annual inflation

2005	18.9 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2004	11.5 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2003	2.5 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2002	7.8 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2001	7.9 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007
2000	1.3 percent	World Bank Data Profile Tables 2007

Share of income or consumption (poorest 10 percent)

latest available year	2.5	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	2.5	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005

Share of income or consumption (richest 10 percent)

latest available year	29.5	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	29.5	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005

HEALTH

Physicians

1990-2004	11 per 100,000 people	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
1990-2003	14 per 100,000 people	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
1990-2002	14 per 100,000 people	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003

Percentage HIV+ (adults aged 15-49)

2005	0.7 percent	U.N. Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 2006
2003	0.7 percent	UNAIDS 2006

Malaria
Risk from P.falciparum throughout the year in the whole country except the northern areas: Dakhlet-Nouadhibou and Tris-Zemour. In Adrar and Inchiri there is risk in the rainy season (July through October). Resistance to chloroquine reported.
Source: WHO

TB cases

2005	298 per 100,000 people	WHO 2007
2004	293 per 100,000 people	293
2003	283 per 100,000 people	WHO 2006
2002	284 per 100,000 people	WHO 2007
2001	276 per 100,000 people	WHO 2006
2000	272 per 100,000 people	WHO 2006

DISASTERS, CONFLICT & MIGRATION

Chronology of natural disasters
Access EM-DAT, a database of natural disasters from 1900 to the present - death tolls and numbers of affected people - searchable by country.
Source: Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium

Number of refugees originating here

2005	31651	Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
2004	31131	UNHCR
2003	30525	UNHCR
2002	30137	UNHCR
2001	29862	UNHCR
2000	29752	UNHCR

Number of refugees residing here

2006	770	UNHCR
2005	632	UNHCR
2004	473	UNHCR
2003	475	UNHCR
2002	405	UNHCR
2001	365	UNHCR
2000	350	UNHCR

Number of internally displaced people\Estimate

	No data available

No data available

Landmine casualties per year

2004	5	Landmine Monitor Report 2005
2003	0	Landmine Monitor Report 2004

Casualty figures may include both civilians and military personnel injured or killed by landmines and unexploded ordnance.
Signatory to landmine convention?
Yes (1997)
Source: Landmine Monitor Report

Percentage of GDP spent on military

2004	1.4 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2003	1.6 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005

Percentage of GDP spent on education

2002-2004	3.4 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2000-2002	No data available percent
1999-2001	3.6 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
1998-2000	3.0 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003

Percentage of GDP spent on health

2003-2004	3.2 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2006
2002	2.9 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2005
2001	2.6 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2004
2000	3.4 percent	UNDP - Human Development Report 2003