BACK TO THE FRONT PAGE BASIC INFO. ECONOMY GEOGRAPHY GOVERNMENT HISTORY HUMAN RIGHTS LINKS NEWS PEOPLE
		MAURITANIA Six ethnic groups; one primarily Arab Berber (Maure), remainder black African (Toucouleur, Fulbe, Soninké, Wolof, and Bambara). Numerical proportions of each a source of contention; in 1978 government claimed 70 percent Maure; others said blacks constituted 50 percent or more. POPULATION GRAPH Population: 2,828,858 (July 2002 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.1% (male 653,005; female 650,530) 15-64 years: 51.7% (male 720,473; female 741,094) 65 years and over: 2.2% (male 26,251; female 37,505) (2002 est.) Population growth rate: 2.92% (2002 est.) Birth rate: 42.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) Death rate: 13.34 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) Infant mortality rate: 75.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 51.53 years female: 53.71 years (2002 est.) male: 49.42 years Total fertility rate: 6.15 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.8% (2000 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 6,600 (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths: 610 (1999 est.) Nationality: noun: Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian Ethnic groups: mixed Maur/black 40%, Maur 30%, black 30% Religions: Muslim 100% Languages: Hassaniya Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (official), French Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 41.2% male: 51.5% female: 31.3% (2002 est.)