Mauritania

What defines the Islamic Republic of Mauritania?

Mauritania is an official Islamic republic located in the Maghreb region of West Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Western Sahara, Algeria, Mali, and Senegal. By land area, Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world, with ninety percent of its territory situated within the Sahara desert.

How did colonial expansion shape the modern nation?

A major historical turning point occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when France laid claim to the territories from the Senegal River area northward. French military and colonial administrator Xavier Coppolani took charge of the imperial mission in 1901, using strategic alliances with Zawaya tribes and military pressure against Hassane warrior nomads to extend French rule over the Mauritanian emirates. French armies occupied Trarza, Brakna, and Tagant beginning in 1903 and 1904, although the northern emirate of Adrar held out longer with support from the anticolonial rebellion of shaykh Maa al-Aynayn and insurgents from Tagant. In 1904, France organized the territory as part of French West Africa, functioning first as a protectorate and later as a colony. Following the defeat of Adrar by French armies in 1912, the region was fully incorporated into the territory of Mauritania.

What are the demographic and linguistic foundations today?

Most of the population lives in the temperate southern portion of the country, with roughly a third concentrated in the capital and largest city, Nouakchott, on the Atlantic coast. Culturally and politically part of the Arab world as a member of the Arab League, the state religion is Islam, and almost all inhabitants are Sunni Muslims. Arabic serves as the official language, while Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof are recognized as national languages. Society is multiethnic, comprising the Haratin, the Bidhan, and various sub-Saharan ethnic groups.