Mauritania

Main article: Africa

Politics

2024: Re-election of President Mohammed Ould al-Ghazouani for a second term and strengthening Western influence in the country

According to the results of the presidential elections held in June 2024, the current leader Mohammed Ould al-Ghazouani was re-elected for a second term. Over the previous few years, he managed to establish himself as a supporter of pro-American politics and was clearly a favorite in the Western media.

In particular, a few weeks before the elections, it became known that he gave the green light to build US bases in the country.

During the voting, his main opponents were reformist Biram Dah Abeid and Islamist Hamadi Mohamed Abdi.

The first is a famous anti-slavery fighter whose popularity among the poor is so high that the authorities in Nouakchott are trying in every possible way to prevent him from participating in all elections, mainly finding a reason to imprison him.

And, of course, during the vote, under the pretext of ensuring order, many representatives of young people who campaigned for him were detained.

In turn, Hamadi Adbi is a favorite among the traditionalists of Nouakchott and the north of the country. Thanks to this, he received almost 13% of the vote, playing the role of a popular spoiler, which did not particularly claim power.

Armed Forces

2018: Military spending - $159 million

Economy

GDP $1,310 per person

Inflation

2022: Inflation in November - 11.3%

Gas production

In October 2019, Kosmos Energy opened one of the largest natural gas fields offshore Mauritania.

The American oil and gas company claims that the reserves of the field amount to approximately 1.5 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Kosmos Energy planned to sell its stake in the Mauritania-Senegal basin on the Orca-1 well before the end of the year. However, after the discovery of the field, this decision was postponed until 2020.

Uranium mining

2025: Tiris' first uranium mine launch plan in 2027

In 2027, the first Tiris uranium mine in the country's history should be launched in Mauritania, the launch of which is being prepared by the Australian company Aura Energy. Mining and export permits have been issued, construction is scheduled for the end of 2025. This is not only a significant industrial project, but also a strategic turn for a country entering the uranium market.

Uranium reserves in the Tiris region (in the northeast of the country) were discovered in 2008. The ore lies at a depth of 3-5 meters, which makes its extraction cheap compared to the Nigerian counterparts. The potential of the mine is up to 1000 tons per year, with possible expansion due to the growth of explored reserves.

Despite the scale, Aura Energy does not have the entire amount for sale: of the necessary $300 million, it is planned to raise $150 million in the form of a loan from international development banks. This strengthens assumptions about preparing the project for sale to a large operator capable of providing both financing and sales.

So far, there is no infrastructure in the country for the processing and export of uranium, so in May 2025 an agreement was concluded with an international company for the transportation of radioactive materials. An inter-ministerial committee has also been set up under the Mauritanian government to coordinate the entire process.

The Moorish authorities' bet on uranium is not only an industrial project, but also an attempt to integrate into a new energy landscape, where nuclear fuel is once again a geopolitical asset.

Amid the departure of French companies from the region, in particular from Niger, Mauritania could quickly turn into a new favorite for the nuclear industry.

Agriculture

2019: Low use of pesticides in agriculture

Consumption

2023: Lamb and goat are the most consumed type of meat

2019: Average rice consumption: 62.2 kg per person per year

2018

Vegetable consumption - 51 kg per capita

The minimum age to purchase alcoholic beverages is 18 years

Power

2020: Energy consumption per capita

and

2019: Electrification

Mauritania IT Market

2022: No start-up industry

Transport

2025: Railway gauge - 1435mm

Foreign trade

2023

66% of exports come from gold

Countries in which the mining sector is the basis of exports, as of 2024:

• Botswana - 92% of exports: diamonds
• Guinea - 87% exports: gold
• Mali - 85% of exports: gold
• Burkina Faso - 84% exports: gold
• Suriname - 83% of exports: gold
• Zambia - 79% Exports: Copper
• DR Congo - 77% exports: copper
• Mauritania - 66% of exports: gold
• Guyana - 64% exports: gold
• Kyrgyzstan - 62% of exports: gold
• Namibia - 61% Exports: Diamonds
• Peru - 61% of exports: copper

23% of wheat supplies are in Russia and Ukraine

2022: China is the biggest export destination

Population

Main article: Population of Africa

Migration

2021: Net outflow over 4 years

Marriages

Allowed to have more than one spouse

Overweight

Mortality

2022: Life expectancy - 64.7 years

2016: Number of deaths from opioid use disorders

Traffic safety

Education

2020: The National School of Management, Journalism and Masters is the oldest functioning educational institution in the country, founded in 1966

2019: Percentage of people who can read

Health care

2022: Abortion ban in place

2021: Maternity leave

in

2020

Duration of guaranteed paid sick leave from 3 to 5.9 months

Part of the population defecates on the street

Culture

Religion

2020: The country in the world leaders in the share of Muslims in the total population

Cinema

Meda Hondo Films

In the early 1970s, the concept of "third world cinema," or "third cinema," was formed. First formulated by Argentine directors Fernando Solanas and Octavio Hetino, it quickly gained popularity not only in Latin America, but also in other developing countries and regions with a colonial past. Its authors called for abandoning the forms and principles of bourgeois art that dominated the West and turning cinema into an instrument of anti-imperialist struggle. Social content dominated aesthetics, the relevance of the statement was recognized as more significant than artistic skill.

The classic representative of the school "third cinema" can be called the Moorish Meda Hondo. Going back to the France colonial era in search of a better life, he worked as a port docker in Marseille, then moved to, Paris where he was a cook and waiter, loader and salesman, until, in the end, he found himself in art - first in theater, and then cinema.

In 1970, Honda's first work was released - the manifesto of radical pan-African avant-garde "Soleil O," called from one of the folk Antillean songs. The film tells the story of a well-known author among African migrants in France who face discrimination and racism. Shot in black and white, it combines political satire, Brecht theater, caricature and visions, slightly reminiscent of early Fassbinder in style.

What Senegalese director Sembin previously spoke about with subtle hints, Honda shouts at the top of his voice. His debut was so deafeningly successful that the low-budget creation produced at his own expense got to the Cannes Festival, and in 1972 it appeared at the International Film Festival of Asia and Africa in Soviet Tashkent.

In 1986, the Moorish director will make another important movie, this time already stricter in form and understandable to the mass audience. This is an adaptation of the historical novel by the Nigerian writer Mamani Abdoulaye "Sarraounia" about the rebellious ruler of a pagan kingdom, whose army at the end of the 19th century fiercely resisted the French colonialists.

The image of the heroine, sung in literature and cinema, later became a recognizable symbol of the struggle of Africans for political independence, and already in the 21st century played a significant role in the spread of anti-French sentiments.

Crime

Prisons

2019: Minimum age of imprisonment for children - 7 years

2018: Number of prisoners per 100 thousand citizens

Landscape

The Eye of the Sahara

There is a unique location in the Sahara Desert called the Sahara Eye or Galb Er Rishat.

This is a huge crater, with a ring structure and a diameter of 50 kilometers.

In 2019, to get to Galb Er Rishat, you first need to get to the capital of Mauritania Nouakchott, from there you can get to the city of Ouadan. From the city to the "Eye of the Sahara" can be reached by car, balloon or plane, depending on the possibilities and desires.

Sport

2022: The most popular sport is football

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History

1978

1914

Calendar