Country Profile

Mauritania is a country located on occidental side of Africa (West Africa) on the edge of the Sahara Desert, within the Sahel, off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The Sahel, Arabic for “shore,” is located just south of the Sahara Desert and functions as a safe zone from the barren wasteland of the Sahara (Kerr, C. et al., 2007). Mauritania became independent from France in 1960 and annexed the southern third of the Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976, but relinquished control three years later due to pressure from the Polisario Guerra Front, which had been seeking independence for the region (CIA, 2011). In recent politics, in 2008 General Muhammad Ould Abdelaziz’s military junta disposed of former democratically elected Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi’s government. General Addelaziz was subsequently elected as Mauritania’s civilian president the following year in 2009 (2009, July 23). In terms of language and culture, Mauritania’s ethnic groups of comprised mainly of mixed moor-black (Arab-Berbers) and “Black Africans” (including Haalpu-laaren (or Fulbe), Sooninke, and Wolof communities) both of which were actually involved with severe ethnic tensions between 1987 and 1991 (Jourde, C., 2001). The official national language of Mauritania is Arabic, with French being the other widely spoken language; numerous African dialects are also spoken. Moreover, according to Kerr, C. et al. (2007), the population is 100% Muslim, with Arab Muslims being the power elite in the territory.