Mauritania (MR)

A huge north-western African country, Mauritania borders Algeria to the north, and Mali to the west and south. Its Atlantic coastline runs from Senegal in the south to Western Sahara in the north. The largely desert country has a predominantly Arab-Berber population in the north with a mainly African population in the south. Many among its 3.6 million population are nomads.

A nation of the Sahel

Geographically, Mauritania is one of the 10 countries that are  - in total or in part - in the Sahel, the vast region that stretches along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert from the Atlantic in the west to the Red Sea in the east, wedged between the desert to the north and tropical forests and savannah to the south. For the most part, this belt has a tropical semi arid climate.

Colonisation

European traders started moving in on Mauritania in the 1400s, initially establishing trading posts along the country’s coastline. France declared Mauritania a protectorate in 1904, and an overseas French territory 42 years later. Mauritania declared independence in 1960.

Coups and politics

In 1978, a coup toppled the country’s first president, Moktar Ould Daddah. There followed a series of intermittent coups and failed coups over the next four decades, withs the last one coming in 2007 with the overthrow of President Abdallahi and his replacement by the coup-leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. The 2019 presidential elections saw the peaceful transfer of Abdel Aziz, who decided not to run, and his successor, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani who became the country’s 9th President.

Western Sahara

In 1979, Mauritania gave up any claim to any Western Sahara territory and decided to support the claims to self-determination of the Sahrawi people as represented by the Polisario Front. Morocco subsequently annexed formerly Mauritian-occupied territory in Western Sahara.

A dependable Western ally and oil producer

Mauritania is seen by the West as a reliable ally in the fight against Islamist militancy in the Sahel region, including groups such as Al Qaeda.

Mauritania is rich in mineral resources, particularly iron and ore. It started offshore oil and gas production in 2006.