Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
President

(pronounced "ma-OH-ya OOD sid-AH-med TAH-ya")

"I am glad to hail the increasing trust which our country enjoys with our partners in development and which has given us the opportunity to be the first country to benefit from the initiative to reduce debts."

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania is bordered on the northwest by the Western Sahara, on the north by Morocco, on the east and southeast by Mali, and on the south by Senegal. Its total area is 1,030,700 sq km (297,950 sq mi). Two-thirds of the country is desert.

Mauritania's population was estimated in 2002 at 2.83 million, with an annual population growth rate estimated at 2.92%. The population density of Mauritania, the lowest in West Africa, averages 2.1 persons per sq km (5.5 per sq mi). Two-thirds of the people are Moors, comprised of...