21 May 2013 Last updated at 09:05 ET

Mauritania profile

Women draw water from a well Much of Mauritania is short of water
  • Full name: The Islamic Republic of Mauritania
  • Population: 3.6 million (UN, 2012)
  • Capital: Nouakchott
  • Area: 1.04 million sq km (398,000 sq miles)
  • Major languages: Arabic (official), French, others
  • Major religion: Islam
  • Life expectancy: 57 years (men), 61 years (women) (UN)
  • Monetary unit: 1 ouguiya = 5 khoums
  • Main exports: Fish and fish products, iron ore, gold
  • GNI per capita: US $1030 (World Bank, 2011)
  • Internet domain: .mr
  • International dialling code: +222

More on This Story

More Africa stories

RSS

Features & Analysis

Elsewhere on the BBC

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.