什么是茅利塔尼亚

正式名称茅利塔尼亚伊斯兰共和国（Islamic Republic of Mauritania）

西北非共和国，濒大西洋。面积1,030,700平方公里。人口2,591,000（2001）。首都︰诺克少。摩尔人（阿拉伯－柏柏尔人和苏丹黑人的混血种人後裔）占全国人口的绝大多数。语言︰阿拉伯语（官方语）以及富拉尼语、索宁克语（Soninke）、沃洛夫语（以上为全国共同语）。宗教︰伊斯兰教（国教）。货币︰乌吉亚（UM）。茅利塔尼亚大部分地区为地势低洼的沙漠，形成撒哈拉沙漠的最西部。只有一小部分地方为可耕地，但近40%的土地为牧场和草地。大部分居民为游牧民，放牧的牲畜有山羊、绵羊和骆驼等。海洋捕鱼业和铁矿生产为主要岁入来源。政府形式为共和国，两院制。国家元首暨政府首脑为总统，由总理辅佐。

最早的居民是桑哈贾柏柏尔人（Sanhadja Berbers）。11～12世纪期间，该国为柏柏尔阿尔摩拉维德人（Berber Almoravid）运动的中心，该运动把伊斯兰教强加於邻近地区的许多部族。15世纪阿拉伯各部族到达茅利塔尼亚，并建立了数个强大的联邦，有统治塞内加尔河地区的特拉尔萨（Trarza）和布拉克那（Brakna）、占据东部的昆塔（Kunta）以及北部的里格爱贝特（Rigaibat）。葡萄牙人於15世纪抵达。法国藉着1817年的「塞内加尔条约」取得沿海地区的控制，1903年正式的保护地扩大到全境。1904年划入法属西非，1920年成为殖民地。1960年茅利塔尼亚获得独立，脱离法兰西共同体。首任总统达达赫（M. O. Daddah）在1978年的一场政变中被废黜，军人政府成立。1980年成立文官政府，1991年通过新宪法。1990年代期间，虽然在经济自由化方面获得一些成功，政府与反对派之间的关系却日益恶化。

Mauritania

Republic, North Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. Area: 398,000 sq mi (1,030,700 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 2,410,000. Capital: Nouakchott. The Moors (of mixed Arab-Berber and Sudanic black descent) consitute the great majority of the population. Languages: Arabic (official); Fulani, Soninke, Wolof (all national). Religion: Islam (official). Currency: ouguiya. Most of Mauritania is made up of low-lying desert that forms the westernmost part of the Sahara. Only a tiny fraction of its land is arable, but almost 40% is rangeland or pasture, and the nomadic herding of goats, sheep, and camels occupies a large portion of the population. Ocean fishing and iron-ore production are major sources of revenue. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. Inhabited in ancient times by Sanhadja Berbers, in the 11th-12th century it was the center of the Berber Almoravid movement, which imposed Islam on many of the neighboring peoples. Arab tribes arrived in the 15th century and formed several powerful confederations: Trarza and Brakna, which dominated the Sénégal River region; Kunta in the east; and Rigaibat in the north. The Portuguese arrived in the 15th century. France gained control of the coastal region in the Senegal treaty of 1817, and in 1903 a formal protectorate was extended over the territory. In 1904 it was added to French West Africa, and in 1920 it became a colony. In 1960 Mauritania achieved independence and left the French Community. The country's first president, Moktar Ould Daddah, was ousted in a coup in 1978, and a military government was established. In 1980 a civilian government was set up and in 1991 a new constitution was adopted. During the 1990s, relations between the government and opposition groups deteriorated, even as there was some success in liberalizing the economy.