Mauritania

Mauritania (Arabic: موريتانيا‎ Mūrītāniyā), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest. It is named after the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
The civilian government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On April 16, 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the upcoming June elections. In Mauritania about 20 % of the population live on less than US$ 1.25 per day.

Capital(and largest city)
Nouakchott18°09′N 15°58′W / 18.15°N 15.967°W / 18.15; -15.967
Official languages
Arabic1,French (de facto)
Demonym
Mauritanian
Government
Military junta2
-
Acting President of the High Council of State
Ba Mamadou Mbaré
-
Prime Minister
Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf
Independence
from France
-
Date
28 November 1960
Area
-
Total
1,030,700 km2 (29th)397,954 sq mi
-
Water (%)
0.03
Population
-
2005 estimate
3,069,000 (135th)
-
1988 census
1,864,236[1]
-
Density
3.0/km2 (221st)7.8/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$6.221 billion[2]
-
Per capita
$2,052[2]
GDP (nominal)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$3.161 billion[2]
-
Per capita
$1,042[2]
Gini (2000)
39 (medium)
HDI (2007)
▲ 0.550 (medium) (137th)
Currency
Ouguiya (MRO)
Time zone
GMT (UTC+0)
-
Summer (DST)
not observed (UTC+0)
Drives on the
right
Internet TLD
.mr
Calling code
222

1 History
2 Politics
2.1 The Ould Daddah era (1960-78)
2.2 CMRN and CMSN military governments (1978-84)
2.3 Ould Taya's rule (1984-2005)
2.4 August 2005 military coup
2.5 2007 Presidential election
2.6 2008 military coup
3 Regions and departments
4 Geography
5 Economy
6 Demographics
7 Culture
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links