Mauritania: Introduction

Mauritania is a lower-middle-income country in Northwest Africa characterized by an arid climate, a mining-led economy, and a multi-ethnic society. While the country has transitioned toward a semi-presidential republic with peaceful leadership transitions, it continues to face challenges including corruption, restricted civil liberties, and entrenched slavery.

• Mauritania's geography is dominated by the Sahara Desert, which covers 90% of its territory, and it possesses very limited arable land, totaling only 0.5%.
• The country's arid to hyperarid climate is marked by significant rainfall variance, ranging from 100 mm in the north to 600 mm in the south, which increases water stress and desertification.
• The economy is heavily reliant on the mining sector, which represents approximately 30% of the GDP; notably, Mauritania provides 10% of global iron exports.
• Despite a trend toward democracy and the first peaceful transition of power in 2019, the country struggles with corruption and the persistence of slavery, which affected about 90,000 people in 2018.

APA

Tsopmo, P. C. (2026). Mauritania: Introduction. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/geographic/guide.pdf?geography=MR&topic=01-introduction

Chicago

Tsopmo, Pierre Christian. Mauritania: Introduction. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/geographic/guide.pdf?geography=MR&topic=01-introduction.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tsopmo |first1=Pierre Christian |title=Mauritania: Introduction |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=31 May 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/geographic/guide.pdf?geography=MR&topic=01-introduction |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tsopmo2026mauritania, author = {Tsopmo, Pierre Christian}, title = {{Mauritania: Introduction}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/geographic/guide.pdf?geography=MR&topic=01-introduction}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }