Mauritania

Mauritania officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. It is the eleventh largest sovereign state in Africa and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest.

Mauritania is an Arabic- and French-speaking country in Northwest Africa. It has a coastline to the Atlantic Ocean to its west. On a global scale, its population density is very low. The country became independent on 28 November 1960 from France.

Mauritania, with one of the world’s lowest population densities, is almost equally divided between Moors of Arab-Berber descent and black Africans, a striking cultural combination that is part of its appeal. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast, which is home to around one-third of the country’s 4.65 million people. The country’s mineral wealth includes large reserves of iron ore, copper, and gypsum, all of which are now being exploited, as well as some oil resources.

Mauritania forms a geographic and cultural bridge between the North African Maghrib (a region that also includes Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) and the westernmost portion of sub-Saharan Africa. Culturally it forms a transitional zone between the Arab-Amazigh (Berber) populations of North Africa and the African peoples in the region to the south of the Tropic of Cancer known as the Sudan(a name derived from the Arabic bilād al-sūdān, “land of the blacks”).

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The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is a member of the United Nations and the African Union. With a Human Development Index of 0.52 Mauritania ranks 154th of 182 countries ranked in the UNDP Human Development Report of 2009. Life expectancy of the 3.2 million inhabitants at birth is 64 years, population growth is 2.5 percent per year. GNI is 840 US-$ per capita. External debt is 62.0 percent of gross national income. Primary school enrolment is 80.4 percent.

In as far as Mauritania has ratified the Optional Protocols for UN Human Rights Conventions or has accepted the Competence of the corresponding UN Treaty Bodies, the inhabitants of Mauritania and their representatives are able to invoke their human rights through these bodies.

All inhabitants of Mauritania may turn to the UN Human Rights Committee through procedure 1503, to the Special Rapporteurs for violations of specific human rights or to ECOSOC for women’s rights violations.

Since Mauritania is a member state of UNESCO, its citizens may use the UNESCO procedure for human rights violations in UNESCO’s fields of mandate.

Mauritania is a member of the regional economic communities AMU and CEN-SAD.

Employers’ or workers’ and certain other organizations (not individuals) of Mauritania may file complaints through the ILO procedure in the cases of those conventions which Mauritania has ratified.

Since Mauritania is an AU member, its citizens and NGOs may file complaints to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

They may also file complaints according to the EU guidelines (on Human Rights Defenders, Death Penalty and Torture) to Embassies of EU Member States and the Delegations of the European Commission.

In cases of human rights violations by multinational enterprises, they may also invoke the National Contact Point in an OECD member state.

Government

Mauritania is a republic. The president, elected by popular vote for a five-year term, is head of state and government and is assisted by the prime minister, whom he appoints.

Security

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The Mauritanian government made strategic investments to improve borderland infrastructure, and prioritized the government’s ability to secure a presence in areas long considered remote and inaccessible. Additional reforms to the Mauritanian security services effectively reorganized the armed forces providing modernized equipment, strategic training, and better pay and living conditions for Mauritanian soldiers.

The military overhaul began with symbolic and substantive actions to boost its war fighting infrastructure and soldiers’ quality of life. The first symbolic responses addressed hollow facilities and low morale through the restoration of soldiers’ barracks, provision of new uniforms, and across-the-board pay and compensation raises for all military personnel. Substantively, the process of military modernization began to materialize with substantial increases to the military budget, which allowed for the acceleration in military training, the procurement of new armaments and materiel, and the creation of Special Forces capabilities. Besides the enhanced military budget, which quadrupled from 2008 to 2018 (to $160 million), strategic choices regarding priorities in military acquisition and procurement activities proved to be indispensable.

Environment

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Southwestern Mauritania faces considerable environmental problems, with deteriorating natural resources and populations living in conditions of poverty, precarious health and a lack of basic services. In rural areas, only 20% of households have access to sanitation and nearly two thirds of people live below the poverty line, further exacerbating resource degradation.

Much of Mauritania encompasses part of the Sahara desert, and, until the drought conditions that affected most of that zone of Africa in the 1970s, a large proportion of the population was nomadic.

An explosion of ethnic tensions in 1989 precipitated a mass expulsion of tens of thousands of Mauritanians and produced a climate of tension, uncertainty and animosity. Declining living conditions, rising unemployment and poverty, and the uneven distribution of resources exacerbated traditional sources of conflict access to land and water and social prejudices and discrimination became rampant.

Demography

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The most obvious effects of climate change on the land ecosystem in Mauritania is desertification and its consequences.

Desertification has been seriously affecting Mauritania for decades, and is exacerbated by climate change and human activities. With 70 percent of its population living in rural areas and directly relying on natural resources for their livelihoods, environmental degradation has severely impacted the country’s development.

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Some of the priority adaptation activities include, the development of fodder crops to improve the quality of livestock and the promotion and development of domestic poultry farms.

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The last population and habitat census carried out in 2000 revealed that Mauritania’s population accounts for 2,508,159 inhabitants. With an area of 1,030,700 square km it is the eleventh largest country of the continent. The calculated growth rate is 2.4%, and the density is near 2.5% inhabitants per sq. km. However, the density of inhabitants per sq. km varies from 0.4 in the north with a desert climate, to 20 in the south, in the Senegal River valley. The district of Nouakchott alone, on the Atlantic coastline, accounts for about 22% of the country’s entire population living in less than 1% of the country’s surface area.

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Three-quarters of the Mauritanian territory is covered by Saharan desert, and the remaining one quarter is a Sahelian zone. Mauritania is therefore one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of desertification. This is the consequence of the winds activity that sweep the country. These air masses are made up of 3 main currents blowing throughout the year: marine trade wind, continental trade wind, and the summer monsoon.

Religion

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Officially, 100% of the country’s citizens are Muslim, although there is a small community of Christians, mainly of foreign nationality. The people of Mauritania are nearly all adherents of Sunni Islam.

Tourism

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The “socio-ethnic” groups (Moors, Soninkés, Haalpulaar’en and Wolofs) which compose the country remain deeply entrenched to their traditional lifestyles while sharing similar or even identical social systems and cultural and moral values and also having cultivated socio-cultural specificities that give to the cultural diversity of the country a particular charm.

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This unity / diversity of cultures blends in a variety of natural environments. Mauritania is subdivided into four major ecological zones: the Saharan zone; the Sahelian zone; the river valley; and the coastline.

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Each of these zones is rich of its own diversity: the large dunes of the desert and the embedded rocky heights of the Adrar and the Tagant dressed with greeneries springing from rocks; the spotless beaches of the coastline extending to infinity, and the paradise of the birds of the Banc d’Arguin; the lazy course of the river with its curve runs and banks hosting  vibrant and colorful life.

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Even though, we are only a few hours flight from Europe, we feel like we are at the end of the world when we are in many places of Mauritania. Mauritania is one of those countries in which we can still enjoy the infinite spaces, the feeling of a freedom without any restrictions or limits.

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There are few facilities for tourists, except in the capital, and travel is difficult outside of Nouakchott. Most visitors need a valid passport and visa; the visa requirement is waived for French and Italian nationals, citizens of Arab League countries, and citizens of the former French territories in Africa. Yellow fever and cholera immunizations are recommended.

Tourists are attracted to Atar, the ancient capital of the Almoravid kingdom, and Chinguetti, with houses and mosques dating back to the 13th century. In 1999, tourism brought in about US $28 million.

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According to 2002 US government estimates, the daily cost of staying in Nouadhibou is $57. The cost of staying in Nouakchott is about $95 per day.

The number of foreign tourists visiting Mauritania over the period 2018-2019 increased by 166%. However, this increase is linked to the country’s very low tourist numbers: about 4000 foreign tourists visited Mauritania during the last season compared to 1500 a year earlier.

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The Mauritanian tourist sector is growing rapidly but at extremely low levels. According to Minister Khadijetou M’Bareck Fall, during the 2018-2019 tourist season, a total of 4,000 foreign tourists visited Mauritania on charter flights. This is significantly higher than the previous season 2017-2018 when a total of 1,500 tourists were registered, representing an annual increase of 166%.

There is a decent variety of restaurants in Nouakchott with plates from 1000 to 2500 UM. Most restaurants in the capital offer much the same menu – simple pizzas, hamburgers, sandwiches and salads. There is a string of restaurants on the road from the Stade Olympique to the French Embassy. Good ones include Pizza Lina, Cafe Liban, and Le Petit Cafe. The Sahara Cafe, on the other side of the stadium, is also a good place for pizza, sandwiches or Lebanese dishes, and has some of the best reasonably-priced food in town. Near Marche Capitale, there is a street of sandwich shops that offer near-identical menus, the best of which is the Prince (which taxi drivers know by name).

Outside of Nouakchott, it is possible to find a hamburger in Atar. Otherwise, you are looking at local dishes: fish and rice (chebujin) in the south and rice and meat or couscous in the north. Hole-in-the-wall restaurants can be found everywhere and serve meals from 20 to 50 UM. Mechui, or grilled sheep, is also delicious if a little more expensive. Look for carcasses hanging by the side of the road. Some fruit can be found in most regional capitals. Note that most restaurants outside of Nouakchott do not have very high standards of cleanliness. Since most small restaurants go under within a few years of opening, your best bet in trying to find one in a regional capital is to just ask locals for directions to whatever is nearby.

Health

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Mauritania is characterized by many opportunities, given its people’s potential and its natural resources. It is also characterized by various challenges in the areas of child survival, development and protection.

The country continues to face a multidimensional crisis caused by food insecurity, a high rate of malnutrition, recurrent epidemics and an influx of refugees from northern Mali. These shocks have contributed to increased vulnerability, particularly among children and women.

Malaria occurs throughout the year in Mauritania. Chloroquine-resistant strains of malaria are reported. Other insect-borne diseases (including dengue fever, yellow fever, filariasis and leishmaniasis) also occur. You should take measures to avoid insect bites, including using an insect repellent at all times.

Water-borne, food-borne and other infectious diseases (including cholera, hepatitis, measles and tuberculosis) are prevalent, while other diseases (including meningitis, polio, Rift Valley fever and typhoid) are known to occur with outbreaks occurring from time to time.

Boil all drinking water or drink bottled water (for at least three mintues), avoid ice cubes and raw and undercooked food. Do not swim in fresh water to avoid exposure to certain water borne diseases such as bilharzia (schistosomiasis).

The temperature in Mauritania is often extremely high. You may become dehydrated quite easily, and not be aware of it. Try to drink water regularly throughout the day, in the hottest months this may mean several litres of water.

Economy

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Mauritania’s economy is dominated by extractive industries (oil and mines), fisheries, livestock, agriculture, and services. Half the population still depends on farming and raising livestock, even though many nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s, 1980s, 2000s, and 2017. Recently, GDP growth has been driven largely by foreign investment in the mining and oil sectors.

The economy grew by an estimated 3.1% up from 2% in 2015 despite a sharp fall in the price of iron ore. The tax-to-GDP ratio in Mauritania increased by 0.7 percentage points from 18.0% in 2016 to 18.7% in 2017. In comparison, the average for the 26 African countries in Revenue Statistics in Africa 2019 remained at 17.2% over the same period.

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Mauritania’s extensive mineral resources include iron ore, gold, copper, gypsum, and phosphate rock, and exploration is ongoing for tantalum, uranium, crude oil, and natural gas. Extractive commodities make up about three-quarters of Mauritania’s total exports, subjecting the economy to price swings in world commodity markets. Mining is also a growing source of government revenue, rising from 13% to 30% of total revenue from 2006 to 2014. The nation’s coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, and fishing accounts for about 15% of budget revenues, 45% of foreign currency earnings. Mauritania processes a total of 1,800,000 tons of fish per year, but overexploitation by foreign and national fleets threaten the sustainability of this key source of revenue.

The International Monetary Fund projected in April 2020 that the world economy would contract sharply by 3 percent, and that the economy of sub-Saharan Africa would contract by 1.6 percent in 2020. Furthermore, ECA has projected that, in a worst-case scenario, economic activity for Africa as a whole would contract by 2.6 percent, with negative impacts on the employment rate, and estimated that four out of five businesses in Africa would be significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The African Development Bank predicted an economic contraction for the continent of up to 3.4 percent in 2020.