Spooner, J. (2017) Traditional costumes of the people of Mauritania.
"Mauritania has a mixed population of blacks, light-skinned Moors, and a mixture of black-Moor extraction. Arabic and French are the official languages. The major ethnic languages are Pulaar, Soninke, Hassaniya, and Wolof." (Agyeman, 2007). The population is made of three ethnic components. These components include Mauritanian Africans and Arabs. Arabic group consists of white Arabs (Bidhan or White Moorish), and Black Arabs (Haratine or Black Moorish). Arabs make up three-fourths of the whole population, and the remainder of the population include the Mauritanian Africans.
MAURITANIAN VARIETIES
There are many languages spoken in Mauritania by different ethnic groups. These languages are Hassaniya, which is a variety of Modern Standard Arabic, Soninke, Wolf, Pulaar, and French. Hassaniya is The predominant language in the country; spoken by the white and the black Arabic groups. The other languages are Wolf, Pulaar, and soninke which spoken by the Mauritanian African groups, and French is widely used in media and among educated class. Though, according to the Mauritanian constitution, the Modern Standard Arabic is the official language.
A Mauritanian girl speakin some Mauritanian local varities.
DEMOGRAOPHICS
The Mauritanian population consists of three main ethnic groups: white Arabs (Bidhan or Moors), black Arabs (Haratin), and Mauritanian Africans. “In 2011, it was estimated that Mauritania's population is 30% Arab (Berber and Beidane/Moors), 30% Black (non-Arabized), which includes the Fula, Toucouleur, Bambara, Soninke, Serer, and Haratin people, and 40% mixed”. (World Population Review, 2016)
Retrived from http://mecometer.com/country/mauritania/demographics/
RELIGION
Retrived from http://tripfreakz.com/offthebeatenpath/the-ancient-libraries-of-chinguetti
Islam is the religion of the people and the state according to the Mauritanian constitution. "Mauritania is nearly 100% Muslim. Although there is a small community of Christians. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nouakchott, founded in 1965 and serves the 4,500 Catholics in Mauritania. There are also a few adherents of Judaism working in the country.” (Idil Uz, 2016). The Mauritanian law is based on Islamic Sharia, eventhough the other Non-Muslims' religious rights and freedom are reserved.
EDUCATION
“The Mauritanian educational system consists of six years of primary school, three to four years of junior secondary, three years of senior secondary, and an open tertiary system. Compulsory schooling is nine years with the compulsory school age set at six years.”(Agyeman, 2007). These stages, starting from primary school and up are taught in separate systems of education. There is the Arabic system in which Arabic is the medium of instruction, and the students of this system study all subject in Arabic. The other system is a bilingual branch where French is the medium of instruction. In 1999, the Mauritanian authorities reformed the educational system and unified the whole system. In the new educational system, the Mauritanian government introduced Arabic at the Primary school, French at the secondary school, and English at the first year of high school.
Retrived from http://www.globalpartnership.org/country/mauritania.
ECONOMY
•Despite being rich in different natural resources, Mauritania has a low gross domestic product. It has extensive deposits of iron ore and other economic sources. "People depend mainly on agriculture. About 25% of the population still depends on livestock and agriculture for their livelihood while 29% are in industry with 46% in services" (Agyeman, 2007). Mauritanian people have great natural sources compared to the percentage of the population.