Mauritania
July 3rd

“Mauritania, turn to Me and be saved!”

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:22,NIV)

》 Country Profile

Continent | Africa
Population | 4.16 million
Area | 1,030,700㎢, Predominantly desert terrain along the Atlantic coast of northwestern Africa
Capital City | Nouakchott (1.37 million people)
People Groups | Total 18 groups, Moors 81.9% (belonging to Arabs, divided into black and white), Fulani 6.3%, Soninke 5.2%, Tuareg 2.7%, Bedouin 1.5%
Unreached People Groups | 14 Groups (99.7% of the population)
Official Language(s) | Arabic (official), Hassaniya dialect (spoken by 2/3 of the population), French
Total Languages | 12
Bible Translations | Completed 5, New Testament 5, Partial 1
Religion | Christianity 0.3% (Protestant 0.03%, Catholic 0.2%), Muslim 99.5%, Ethnic religion 0.2% Evangelical 0.1% (4,000 people)

》 About Mauritania

Mauritania has long been home to the Bahour people, the indigenous black population, who established an agricultural society. Starting in the 3rd century, the Berbers migrated south into the Western Sahara region, eventually forming a powerful unified state in the 11th century. During the same period, the expansion of the Arab Almoravid Kingdom led to the emergence of the Moors, a Multiracial group of Arabs and Berbers. In the 15th century, Portugal engaged in gold and slave trade along the coast, and in 1814, France—having already colonized Senegal—expanded its control to Mauritania’s coastal regions. The country gained independence from France in 1960, with Mokhtar Ould Daddah becoming its first president. He established an Islamic republic under a one-party dictatorship, ruling for 49 years. Post-independence, Mauritania experienced ongoing turmoil due to military coups, corruption, and ethnic conflicts. In 2008, Abdel Aziz took power through a coup and later won the 2009 presidential election, governing for 10 years and bringing relative stability. The country operates as an Islamic republic with a presidential system, with Mohamed Ould Ghazouani serving as president since 2019.

Mauritania remains one of the poorest nations in the world, with much of its land covered by desert. The oil and mining industries, fishing, livestock, and agriculture form the backbone of the economy. Despite repeated droughts forcing many nomads and subsistence farmers into cities, half of the population still depends on farming and livestock. Key mineral resources include iron ore, gold, copper, gypsum, and phosphate, while exploration continues for tantalum, uranium, crude oil, and natural gas. Mineral exports account for three-quarters of total exports, while fishing contributes about 45% of foreign exchange earnings. However, Mauritania faces significant economic challenges, including recurrent droughts, heavy reliance on foreign aid and investment, instability in neighboring Mali, lack of infrastructure and institutional capacity, and a severe shortage of skilled labor. Despite officially abolishing slavery in 1981, Mauritania was the last country in the world to do so. Shockingly, it is estimated that 10–20% of the population still lives under some form of modern slavery. Mauritania’s GDP per capita is approximately $2,082.

》 Scripture Focus

》 Prayer Points

1. Mauritania has been an Islamic country for over a thousand years and enforces Sharia law. As a result, evangelism is illegal, and converts face imprisonment, torture, punishment, and even execution. Christianity makes up only about 0.3% of the population, with approximately 4,000 evangelicals, though the exact number of believers remains unknown. Due to its geography and climate, Mauritania is almost completely isolated from the outside world. Social change is strongly resisted, and historically, the nation has avoided contact with foreign influences. With a low literacy rate, many Mauritanians have never been exposed to Christian literature, the Bible, or gospel media, but the rise of the internet is beginning to open their eyes.
Let us pray that the words of Isaiah 45:21—“Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides Me.”—will be fulfilled in Mauritania, a nation that has remained firmly closed for centuries.

2. As one of the world’s poorest nations, Mauritania struggles with high maternal and infant mortality rates, and one-third of its children suffer from chronic malnutrition. International relief organizations such as World Vision (WVI), Caritas, and the Lutheran Church provide aid for issues like HIV/AIDS, human rights, environmental protection, relief, and development work. Because foreign missionaries cannot openly operate, they enter the country under the guise of professionals or business-people.
Foreigners who attempt to convert Mauritanians face harassment, interrogation, detention, deportation, and even execution. The situation worsened in 2009 when an American missionary was murdered by an Islamic terrorist group, leading many foreign believers to flee the country.
Let us pray for the protection of foreign Christians and missionaries in Mauritania and that they may be granted wisdom to boldly proclaim God’s name. There is a growing movement of evangelism targeting Mauritanians living abroad, particularly in Senegal. Let us pray for more missionaries to be called to serve this land so that Mauritania may hear the gospel of the cross, repent, and be saved. May the Lord raise up diverse ministries to reach this nation in various ways.

3. Nearly all ethnic groups in Mauritania remain unreached. The Haratin people (Black Moors) were once slaves, and though slavery has been legally abolished, thousands still live in conditions akin to slavery. Let us pray that the gospel will reach their suffering hearts and bring them true freedom in Christ.
Let us also intercede for the White Moorish government, that they may recognize God as the righteous Judge and repent of their discriminatory and oppressive practices. May the Fulani, Soninke, Bambara, and Wolof peoples in sub-Saharan Africa experience a deep spiritual thirst that compels them to seek God, believe in the gospel, be justified by faith, and be restored as a people who boast in the cross of Christ.
Because oral traditions dominate and literacy rates remain low, it is urgent to spread the gospel through radio, film, satellite television, the internet, and mobile phone media in local dialects. The Bible must be translated into Hassaniya Arabic as soon as possible, while the Fulani New Testament needs wider distribution and the Old Testament still requires translation.
Let us pray that God’s righteous word will go forth and be heard by every tribe in Mauritania, so that “every knee will bow to the Lord and every tongue will swear by faith and be saved.” (Isaiah 45:23)

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