Mauritania
sovereign state in West Africa and North Africa From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mauritania is a country in northwest Africa. The capital city, which is also the biggest city in the country, is Nouakchott. It is on the Atlantic coast. Its president is General Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.
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At 1,030,700 km² (397,929 mi²),[8] Mauritania is the world's 29th-largest country (after Bolivia). It is similar in size to Egypt. The land is flat in most places.
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Demographics
Religion
Mauritania is almost 100% Muslim, most of whom are Sunni. People can be killed in Mauritania for being an atheist.[9] On 27 April 2018, The National Assembly passed a law that allows for the death penalty for certain apostasy-related crimes.[10]
Language
Afro-Asiatic languages
Modern Standard Arabic is the official language of Mauritania. Hassaniya is the Arabic dialect that is widely spoken throughout the country. It is mostly used in daily life.
Berber languages
There are also some Berber languages that are spoken in Mauritania. In the south Zenaga is spoken and close to the border with Mali in the southeast Tamasheq (a variety of Tuareg) is spoken. Zenaga is only spoken by a few hundred people and seems to be close to disappearance.[11]
Foreign languages
As Mauritania is a former colony of France, it is now part of the Francophonie. French is spoken including African French and Maghreb French.
Niger-Congo languages
There are several Niger-Congo languages that are spoken in Mauritania. These are Wolof, Soninke, Pulaar and Bambara.[12]
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Economy
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Mauritania is rich in natural resources but has a low GDP.[13] Many people living in Mauritania depend on farming and livestock. Mauritania has a large deposit of iron ore, which is almost half of the country's total exports.
References
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