Mauritania is a large country in northwest Africa, the great majority of it lying within the Sahara Desert, on the Atlantic coast between the Maghreb and West Africa. A bridge between the Arab and Berber north and the Black African south, it has an ancient heritage as a land of desert caravans and Islamic scholarship, home to fabled trading towns whose libraries still hold priceless manuscripts. Sparsely populated and arid, it is rich in iron ore and bordered by some of the most productive fishing waters in the world.
The region was crossed by the trans-Saharan trade routes and saw the rise of desert towns such as Chinguetti, which became renowned centres of Islamic learning and pilgrimage. The Almoravid movement, which built an empire stretching to Spain, emerged from these lands. Various Berber and Arab peoples, the Moors, came to dominate the desert. France colonised Mauritania in the early twentieth century, and the country gained independence in 1960, navigating since then the tensions between its Arab-Berber and Black African communities.
Mauritania is overwhelmingly desert, with the Sahara covering most of the country, a vast and largely empty expanse of sand dunes, rocky plateaus, and the occasional oasis. A narrow band of semi-arid Sahel in the south, near the Senegal River, holds the best farmland and much of the settled population. The Atlantic coast, by contrast, washes some of the richest fishing grounds on Earth, where cold, nutrient-laden waters teem with fish, a major resource for an otherwise barren land.
The flag of Mauritania is green, bearing a golden crescent moon and star, with horizontal red stripes added across the top and bottom. The green and the crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam, the faith that defines the nation, which calls itself an Islamic republic, while the gold is associated with the sands of the Sahara. The red stripes, added in a later revision, are said to represent the blood shed by those who defended the country.
Mauritania is an Islamic republic, and Islam is not only the overwhelming faith but the very basis of the state, with virtually the entire population following Sunni Islam. The country has a deep heritage of Islamic scholarship, embodied in the ancient libraries of towns like Chinguetti, and religious tradition shapes law, education, and daily life. Sufi brotherhoods are influential. The practice of any other religion is heavily restricted, making Mauritania one of the most religiously uniform countries in the world.
Mauritanian cuisine reflects the country's desert and its position between the Arab and African worlds. Meat, especially from the herds of camels, goats, and sheep, and dates from the oases are central, along with rice and millet. A traditional dish is thieboudienne, the fish and rice dish shared with neighbouring Senegal, reflecting the importance of the coast. Camel milk is prized, and strong, sweet tea, poured in an elaborate ceremony of several rounds, is central to a culture of warm hospitality.
Agriculture in Mauritania is severely limited by the desert that covers most of the land, confined largely to the Senegal River valley in the south and a few oases, where farmers grow millet, sorghum, rice, dates, and vegetables. Herding of camels, cattle, sheep, and goats across the Sahel is a traditional way of life. Far more important to the economy, however, are the country's rich offshore fisheries and its large deposits of iron ore, which is the leading export.
The trans-Saharan trade, the rise of the Almoravids, and the scholarly towns of the desert mark Mauritania's heritage. Since independence in 1960 the country has been shaped by tension between its Arab-Berber and Black African populations and by a series of military coups. It also carries a difficult legacy as one of the last countries in the world to formally abolish slavery, in 1981, a practice whose lingering effects remain a serious and sensitive issue in Mauritanian society.
Mauritania has a population of around 5 million people, spread thinly across its vast, mostly desert territory, making it one of the least densely populated countries in the world. Its people are divided mainly between Arab-Berber Moors and Black African groups such as the Haalpulaar, Soninke, and Wolof of the south, a division central to the country's social and political life. Arabic is the official language. Most people now live in towns, above all the fast-growing capital, Nouakchott, on the Atlantic coast.
