Dec 5 (Reuters) - A coalition of former opposition parties won more than 40 percent of the seats in Mauritania's first parliamentary elections following a bloodless military coup last year, official results showed on Tuesday.

Here are some key facts about Mauritania:

* THE COUNTRY:

GEOGRAPHY: Most of Mauritania is desert. At 1,025,220 sq km, it is almost twice as big as former colonial power France, but has little more than 800 km (500 miles) of paved roads.

POPULATION: Almost all of Mauritania's 3.1 million people are Muslims and it is officially an Islamic republic. Light-skinned Moors have dominated government since independence in 1960. Black Africans make up about one third of the population.

ECONOMY: Main products are fish, livestock and iron ore, although offshore oil reserves promise to revolutionise the economy. Average annual per capita income was $430 in 2003, according to World Bank statistics. Average life expectancy is 52 years.

* WHAT HAS HAPPENED:

November 1960 - Mauritania becomes independent from France as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, with Moktar Ould Daddah as president.

1975 - Mauritania is declared an Islamic Socialist Republic.

Dec. 1984 - After a number of coup attempts in Mauritania, Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya seizes power and proclaims himself president. Almost two years later, Taya imposes sharia law.

Jan. 1992 - Taya is elected president with nearly 63 percent of the vote under a new 1991 constitution permitting multiple political parties, but opposition candidates denounce victory as fraudulent. Taya is re-elected in 1997 and 2003 after another coup attempt in June that year.

Aug. 2005 - Mauritania's army seizes power to end what it calls the "totalitarian" regime of Taya, who was out of the country, and says it plans to rule for up to two years. In November, the 17-member junta pledges to hold presidential elections in March 2007, five months ahead of schedule.

June 2006 - In a referendum meant to end decades of coup attempts, voters overwhelmingly back constitutional changes ensuring no president can serve for more than a decade.

Dec. 3, 2006 - After a second round of voting in parliamentary elections which completed the results of the Nov. 19 first round, the opposition Coalition for Change emerges with 41 seats in the 95-seat National Assembly. The new parliament will only sit however after the March 2007 presidential elections.

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