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Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Opposition parties were legalized and a new constitution approved in 1991. Two multiparty presidential elections since then were widely seen as flawed, but October 2001 legislative and municipal elections were generally free and open. Mauritania remains, in reality, a one-party state. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions between its black minority population and the dominant Maur (Arab-Berber) populace.
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Country
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Surface Area: 1,030,700 square km
Population: 2,998,563 (July 2004 est.)
Located in: Northern Africa
Capital City: Nouakchott
Head of State: Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA
Prime Minister: Sghair Ould M'BARECK
Independent since: 28 November 1960 (from France)
Currency: Ouguiya (MRO)
Flag (image): 
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