Mauritania is a unitary Islamic republic of 15 regions with a semi-presidential system and a strong executive. Its legal order rests on Sharia, and the state balances Sahel security cooperation with iron ore and fishing exports.
In the 12 Axes register, Mauritania leans hardest on Progressive – Traditional: Traditional 95%; the register median is Traditional 68%.
Take the test and this line shows how close your twelve scores are to Mauritania, and the axis where you differ most.
Where Mauritania sits on each of the twelve axes, in four categories. The label is our estimate; the line under it says why.
Centralized
Centralised state under the president
Leans Autocracy
Multiparty vote, dominant ruling party
Statist
2018 law made blasphemy death penalty mandatory
Anti-Interventionist
Sahel security cooperation, assertive sovereignty
Neutral
Active army, counter-terror focus
Assimilationist
Arabic sole official language; Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof national
Mixed Economic
State-led mining, fishing and iron ore
Balanced
Mixed economy, open to investment
Moderate
Mining exports, moderate tariffs
Religious
Islamic republic, Sharia in criminal law
Reactionary
Penal code allows death penalty for male same-sex acts
Neutral
No distinct state stance
Set against the median of all 195 countries in the register.
Progressive – Traditional
On Progressive – Traditional, Mauritania is at Traditional 95%. The register median is Traditional 68%.
Militarist – Pacifist
On Militarist – Pacifist, Mauritania is at balanced 50%, almost the register median of balanced 50%.
Closeness is 100 minus the root-mean-square distance on all twelve axes.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · freedomhouse.org
Map: L'Américain, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized.
Last updated: 2026-10-15
The tiers on this page are our estimates from public positions and policies. They are not an official statement by the person or the government concerned. Two independent passes scored every axis and a third settled the differences. How the register works. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].
