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Two-fifths of the population is of mixed
Moor and black African heritage. Another 30 % of Mauritania’s
people are Moors (of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry),
many of whom lead nomadic existences.
More than 90 % of the population lives in the southern
quarter of the country. About 30 % of the people are black
African farmers, who are settled in the Sénégal
Valley.
According to the 1988 census, Mauritania had 1,864,236
inhabitants. The 2001 estimated population was 2,747,312,
giving the country an overall population density of 3
persons per sq km (7 persons per sq mi).
The Moors constitute more than two-thirds of the population
; about half of them are white, or bidan, Moors of Arab
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and Berber descent, and about half are black
Moors, of Sudanic origin.
Moorish society historically was divided into a hierarchy
of castes. At the head of the socioeconomic structure
were the noble castes, composed of arabs, or warriors,
and Murabit (marabouts), or priests and scholars of the
Qur'an. The warriors were usually Arab, and the marabouts
were usually Berber. The mass of the bidan population
were vassals who received protection from the warriors
or marabouts in return for tribute. There were two artisan
classes - the blacksmiths and the griots (who were at
once musicians and genealogists). Servant classes were
formed of black Moors and were subdivided into 'abid,
or slaves, and hartani, or freedmen.
Among the ethnic and racial groups, blacks became the
better educated and held most technical, professional,
and diplomatic posts at the time of independence. Members
of this “servant” caste, which developed as
the bureaucratic class, became increasingly aware of their
rights as citizens.
Slavery was abolished by the French before independence
and was officially abolished again on July 5, 1980, but
subsequent reports claimed that the practice had continued. |
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