Country name:
conventional long form:
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
conventional short form:
Mauritania
local long form:
Al Jumhuriyah al Islamiyah al Muritaniyah
local short form:
Muritaniyah
etymology:
named for the ancient kingdom of Mauretania (3rd century B.C. to 1st century A.D.), which existed further north in present-day Morocco; the name derives from the Mauri (Moors), the Berber-speaking peoples of northwest Africa
Government type:
presidential republic
Capital:
name:
Nouakchott
geographic coordinates:
18 04 N, 15 58 W
time difference:
UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
15 regions (wilayas, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott Nord, Nouakchott Ouest, Nouakchott Sud, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza
Independence:
28 November 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 28 November (1960)
Constitution:
history:
previous 1964; latest adopted 12 July 1991
(2018)
amendments:
proposed by the president of the republic or by Parliament; consideration of amendments by Parliament requires approval of at least one-third of the membership; a referendum is held only if the amendment is approved by two-thirds majority vote; passage by referendum requires simple majority vote by eligible voters; passage of amendments proposed by the president can bypass a referendum if approved by at least three-fifths majority vote by Parliament; amended several times, last in 2017 (by referendum)
(2018)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of Islamic and French civil law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth:
no
citizenship by descent only:
at least one parent must be a citizen of Mauritania
dual citizenship recognized:
no
residency requirement for naturalization:
5 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ (since 5 August 2009); note - AZIZ deposed President Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDELLAHI in a coup and installed himself as president in August 2008; he subsequently retired from the military, stepped down from the appropriated presidency in April 2009 to run for the legitimate presidency; he was elected president in July 2009 and reelected in June 2014
head of government:
Prime Minister Mohamed Salem Ould BECHIR (since 29 October 2018)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers - nominees suggested by the prime minister, appointed by the president
elections/appointments:
president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 21 June 2014 (next to be held by 2019); prime minister appointed by the president
election results:
Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ elected president in first round; percent of vote - Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ (UPR) 81.9%, Biram Dah ABEID (IRA) 8.7%, Boidiel Ould HOUMEIT (El Wiam) 4.5%, Ibrahima Moctar SARR (SJD/MR) 4.4%, other 0.5%
Legislative branch:
description:
unicameral Parliament or Barlamane consists of the National Assembly or Al Jamiya Al Wataniya (157 seats; 113 members in single- and multi-seat constituencies directly elected by a combination of plurality and proportional representation voting sytems, 40 members in a single, nationwide constituency directly elected by proportional representation vote, and 4 members directly elected by the diaspora; all members serve 5-year terms)
elections:
first held as the unicameral National Assembly in 2 rounds on 1 and 15 September 2018 (next to be held in 2023)
election results:
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA
note: a referendum held in August 2017 approved a constitutional amendment to change the Parliament structure from bicameral to unicameral by abolishing the Senate and creating Regional Councils for local development
Judicial branch:
highest courts:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (subdivided into 1 criminal and 2 civil chambers, each with a president and 5 counselors); Constitutional Council (consists of 6 members)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court president appointed by the president of the republic to serve a 5-year renewable term; Constitutional Council members appointed - 3 by the president of the republic, 2 by the president of the National Assembly, and 1 by the president of the Senate; members serve single, 9-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 3 years
subordinate courts:
High Court of Justice (cases involving treason and criminal acts of high government officials, including the president); courts of appeal; wilaya (regional) courts; commercial and labor courts; criminal courts; moughataa (district) courts; informal/customary courts
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal or AJD/MR [Ibrahima Moctar SARR]
Burst of Youth for the Nation [Lalla CHERIVA]
Coalition for Unity, Pacific and Democratic Alternation or CUPAD (coalition of opposition parties, includes APP, El Wiam)
Coalition of Majority Parties or CPM (includes UPR, UDP)
El Karama Party [Cheikhna Ould Mohamed Ould HAJBOU]
El Vadila Party [Ethmane Ould Ahmed ABOULMAALY]
El Wiam [Boidiel Ould HOUMEID]
National Forum for Democracy and Unity or FNDU [Mohamed Ould MAOLOUD] (coalition includes RNRD-TAWASSOUL)
National Rally for Reform and Development or RNRD-TAWASSOUL [Mohamed Mahmoud Ould SEYIDI]
Party for Liberty, Equality and Justice [Ba ALASSANE]
Party of Unity and Development or PUD [Mohamed BARO]
Popular Progressive Alliance or APP [Messaoud Ould BOULKHEIR]
Ravah Party [ Mohamed Ould VALL]
Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal or PRDR [Mintat Mint HEDEID]
Union for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
Union for Progress [Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD]
Union for the Republic or UPR [Sidi Mohamed Ould MAHAM]
International organization participation:
ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU (candidate), EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAS, MIGA, MIUSMA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mohamedoun DADDAH (since 27 June 2016)
chancery:
2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 232-5700 through 5701
FAX:
[1] (202) 319-2623
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael DODMAN (since 5 January 2018)
embassy:
Avenue Al Quds, Nouadhibou, Nouadhibou Road, Nouakchott, Mauritania
mailing address:
same as embassy address
telephone:
[222] 4525-2660 or [222] 2660-2663
FAX:
[222] 4525-1592
Flag description:
green with a yellow, five-pointed star above a yellow, upward-pointing crescent; red stripes along the top and bottom edges; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; green also represents hope for a bright future; the yellow color stands for the sands of the Sahara; red symbolizes the blood shed in the struggle for independence
National symbol(s):
star and crescent; national colors: green, yellow
National anthem:
name:
"Hymne National de la Republique Islamique de Mauritanie" (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania)
lyrics/music:
Baba Ould CHEIKH/traditional, arranged by Tolia NIKIPROWETZKY
note: adopted 1960; the unique rhythm of the Mauritanian anthem makes it particularly challenging to sing; Mauritania in November 2017 adopted a new national anthem, "Bilada-l ubati-l hudati-l kiram" (The Country of Fatherhood is the Honorable Gift) composed by Rageh Daoud (sound file of the new anthem is forthcoming)
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Mauritania on this page is re-published from the 2019 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mauritania Government 2019 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mauritania Government 2019 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 08-Feb-19