什麼是茅利塔尼亞

正式名稱茅利塔尼亞伊斯蘭共和國（Islamic Republic of Mauritania）

西北非共和國，瀕大西洋。面積1,030,700平方公里。人口2,591,000（2001）。首都︰諾克少。摩爾人（阿拉伯－柏柏爾人和蘇丹黑人的混血種人後裔）佔全國人口的絕大多數。語言︰阿拉伯語（官方語）以及富拉尼語、索寧克語（Soninke）、沃洛夫語（以上為全國共同語）。宗教︰伊斯蘭教（國教）。貨幣︰烏吉亞（UM）。茅利塔尼亞大部分地區為地勢低窪的沙漠，形成撒哈拉沙漠的最西部。只有一小部分地方為可耕地，但近40%的土地為牧場和草地。大部分居民為遊牧民，放牧的牲畜有山羊、綿羊和駱駝等。海洋捕魚業和鐵礦生產為主要歲入來源。政府形式為共和國，兩院制。國家元首暨政府首腦為總統，由總理輔佐。

最早的居民是桑哈賈柏柏爾人（Sanhadja Berbers）。11～12世紀期間，該國為柏柏爾阿爾摩拉維德人（Berber Almoravid）運動的中心，該運動把伊斯蘭教強加於鄰近地區的許多部族。15世紀阿拉伯各部族到達茅利塔尼亞，並建立了數個強大的聯邦，有統治塞內加爾河地區的特拉爾薩（Trarza）和布拉克那（Brakna）、佔據東部的昆塔（Kunta）以及北部的裏格愛貝特（Rigaibat）。葡萄牙人於15世紀抵達。法國藉着1817年的「塞內加爾條約」取得沿海地區的控制，1903年正式的保護地擴大到全境。1904年劃入法屬西非，1920年成為殖民地。1960年茅利塔尼亞獲得獨立，脱離法蘭西共同體。首任總統達達赫（M. O. Daddah）在1978年的一場政變中被廢黜，軍人政府成立。1980年成立文官政府，1991年通過新憲法。1990年代期間，雖然在經濟自由化方面獲得一些成功，政府與反對派之間的關係卻日益惡化。

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.