President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
President: Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz
Population
65,630,692
3,359,185
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
61.530 years
Capital City
Paris
Nouakchott
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Nouakchott (population: 661,400)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.557
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$2,200 US
Literacy Rate
99%
51.2%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
2.8
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
19.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
30.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished in practice
Political System
republic
military junta
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
28 November 1960 (from France)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Muslim 100%
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French, Hassaniya
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
iron ore, fish and fish products, gold, copper, petroleum
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$2,816,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
ouguiyas (MRO) per US dollar - NA (2007), 271.3 (2006), 267.04 (2005), 265.8 (2004), 263.03 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
5.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
0
Location
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara
