Africa & Middle East

Mauritania

Political journey

Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania has been ruled largely by military officers since a 1978 coup, and abolished slavery only in 1981, criminalizing it in 2007. It is an Islamic republic with strict blasphemy laws. President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, elected in 2019, has kept relative stability in the Sahel.

Mauritania today

Its current leader’s position on the ten Caucus dimensions.

💰EconomyCentered on economy
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureStrongly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationLeaning nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentCentered on environment
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologySlightly tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceLeaning strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsLeaning institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionStrongly religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismSlightly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

Who leads Mauritania today

Portrait of Mohamed Ould Ghazouani

Mohamed Ould Ghazouani

President of Mauritania, 2019 to present

A retired general elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2024, who has kept relative stability in the Sahel, opened a gas project and maintains Islamic law, including harsh blasphemy penalties.

Mohamed Ould Ghazouani sits in the right-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: centered on economy and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly religious on religion, strongly traditional on culture and strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority. The profile is close to the middle on economy and environment.

Full profile of Mohamed Ould Ghazouani →

Political views closest to Mauritania’s leadership

One-nation conservatismA paternalist conservatism holding that the better off owe duties to the poor and to…98%Social conservatismDefends the traditional family, religion and moral norms in law and society.98%MonarchismSupports a hereditary monarch as head of state, from ceremonial constitutional monarchy…97%CorporatismOrganizes society into industry and professional bodies that bargain with the state, an…97%

Countries with similar leadership

Ranked by how close their current leaders are on the ten dimensions.

SomaliaAfrica & Middle East99%ComorosAfrica & Middle East99%BahrainAfrica & Middle East99%DjiboutiAfrica & Middle East99%

Country histories are short summaries. Positions are simplified estimates of the leaders included in Caucus as of October 2026, and percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions.