A vast country of one million thirty thousand km (1,030,700), Mauritania is populated by nearly four million inhabitants. The country has significant natural resources: iron ore, gold and copper, oil and gas, as well as one of the most fish-rich coasts in the world. It is irrigated to the south by the Senegal River. Extensive livestock farming and irrigated and rain-fed crops are the traditional activities of the population in rural areas. Favorable...