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Embassies

Embassy of the Islamic Mauritania in Beijing
Ambassador: H.E. Mr. Ould Taleb Amar Sidi Mohamed
Address: No. 9, Dong San Jie, San Li Tun
Postal Code: 100600
Tel: (+86)10 6532 1346, 6532 1703
Fax: (+86)10 6532 1685


Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Ambassador: Mr. Zhang Xun
Address: Nouakchott, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (P. O. Box 257)
Tel: +222-5252070 (duty phone), +222-6586502 (Counselor's mobile phone)
Fax: +222-5252462
Office Hours:
08:00-15:00, Monday-Thursday (except holidays)
08:00-12:00, Friday (except holidays)
Email: ambchine@opt.mr or ambchine@mauritel.mr
Website: http://mr.china-embassy.org/fra/



Geography

Mauritania is generally flat, its 1,030,700 square kilometers (397,850 sq mi) forming vast, arid plains broken by occasional ridges and clifflike outcroppings. A series of scarps face southwest, longitudinally bisecting these plains in the center of the country. The scarps also separate a series of sandstone plateaus, the highest of which is the Adrar Plateau, reaching an elevation of 500 meters (1,640 ft). Spring-fed oases lie at the foot of some of the scarps. Isolated peaks, often rich in minerals, rise above the plateaus; the smaller peaks are called guelbs and the larger ones kedias. The concentric Guelb er Richat (also known as the Richat Structure) is a prominent feature of the north-central region. Kediet ej Jill, near the city of Zouîrât, has an elevation of 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) and is the highest peak.
Approximately three quarters of Mauritania is desert or semidesert. As a result of extended, severe drought, the desert has been expanding since the mid-1960s. To the west, between the ocean and the plateaus, are alternating areas of clayey plains (regs) and sand dunes (ergs), some of which shift from place to place, gradually moved by high winds. The dunes generally increase in size and mobility toward the north.
women, making it one of the rare countries in the Arab world where women enjoy equal rights. Incidentally, it is also the only country in the Arab world where polygamy is forbidden by law.




Government

The first fully democratic Presidential election since 1960 occurred on 11 March 2007. The election is the final transfer from military to civilian rule following the military coup in 2005. This is the first time the president will have been selected by ballot in the country's history.
The election was won by Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.
Personalities have long exercised an important influence in the politics of Mauritania - the effective exercise of political power in the country depends on control over resources; perceived ability or integrity; and tribal, ethnic, family, and personal considerations. Conflict between white Moor, black Moor, and non-Moor ethnic groups, centering on language, land tenure, and other issues, continues to pose challenges to the idea of national unity.




Population
Population: 3,129,486 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 136
Age structure: 0-14 years: 41% (male 643,436/female 638,793)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 818,778/female 923,046)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 44,836/female 60,597) (2009 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.399% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 33
Birth rate: 34.11 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
Death rate: 11.61 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
Urbanization 41% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 60.37 years
country comparison to the world: 182
male: 58.22 years
female: 62.59 years (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.8% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
HIV/AIDS - people living
with HIV/AIDS:		 14,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90
HIV/AIDS - deaths: fewer than 1,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 76
Religions: Muslim 100%
Education expenditures: 2.9% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 149




Economy

Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. Before 2000, drought and economic mismanagement resulted in a buildup of foreign debt. In February 2000, Mauritania qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and nearly all of its foreign debt has since been forgiven. In December 2007 donors pledged $2.1 billion at a triennial Consultative Group review. A new investment code approved in December 2001 improved the opportunities for direct foreign investment. Mauritania and the IMF agreed to a three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement in 2006 and Mauritania made satisfactory progress, but IMF and World Bank have suspended their programs in Mauritania since the August 2008 coup. Oil prospects, while initially promising, have largely failed to materialize. The Government continues to emphasize reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and privatization of the economy.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $6.31 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154
$6.096 billion (2007)
$6.036 billion (2006)
GDP (official exchange rate): $3.625 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.5% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125
1% (2007 est.)
11.4% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,100 (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 186
$2,000 (2007 est.)
$2,100 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12.5%
industry: 46.7%
services: 40.7% (2008 est.)
Labor force: 786,000 (2001)
country comparison to the world: 141
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 50%
industry: 10%
services: 40% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 30% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177
20% (2004 est.)
Household income
or consumption by % share		 lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 29.5% (2000)
Population below poverty rate 40% (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues: $770 million
expenditures: $770 million (2007 est.)
Public debt:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.3% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
Agriculture - products: dates, millet, sorghum, rice, corn; cattle, sheep
Industries: fish processing, oil production, mining of iron ore, gold, and copper; gypsum deposits have never been exploited
Electricity - production: 412.3 million kWh (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 162
Electricity - consumption: 383.4 million kWh (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
Telephones - main lines in use: 34,900 (2006)
country comparison to the world: 174
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.3 million (2007)
country comparison to the world: 123
Telephone system general assessment: limited system of cable and open-wire lines, minor microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations; mobile-cellular services expanding rapidly
Internet hosts: 34 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 202
Internet users: 30,000 (2006)
country comparison to the world: 179



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