“All citizens of Mauritania are Black.”

Black Moors (Haratines - Arabic-speaking descendants of African origin who are or were enslaved by White Moors) 40%, White Moors (of Arab-Amazigh descent, known as Beydane) 30%, Sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Halpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara ethnic groups) 30%

Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber (White Moor), Arab-Berber-Negroid (Black Moor), Haalpulaar, Soninke, Wolof (Black African Mauritanians).

The population of Mauritania is largely heterogeneous; questions of caste and ethnicity are at the root of many of the most sensitive and deeply rooted human rights problems in this country. / The population consists of three main ethnic groups, although sub-groups and important distinctions nuance each. / The Beydanes, who make up the first of the two Hassanya-speaking groups, are the descendants of Arab and Berber conquerors.

In Mauritania the balance between ethnic groups, and the distribution of political and social influence, differs from that in countries such as Mali and Niger, where the Tuareg and Arab communities, however important in northern regions, represent a small share of the population. By contrast, Mauritania is genuinely a country of plural heritage including Beidane Arabs, the Haratine descendants of slaves and the Afro Mauritanian settled populations of the agricultural south.

While noting the information provided by the State party, the Committee is also concerned by the very limited representation of Negro-Africans (Halpular, Soninke and Wolof) and Haratines in political and public affairs, notably in positions of responsibility and decision-making within the administration, the army and the police, elective posts at the national level, as well as in the private sector and the media (art. 2 and 5).

By contrast, Mauritania is genuinely a country of plural heritage including Beidane Arabs, the Haratine descendants of slaves and the Afro-Mauritanian settled populations of the agricultural south. … In 2014, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless People (OFPRA) cited a local estimate of the population as 30 per cent Beidane, 22 per cent Afro-Mauritanian and 48 per cent Haratine, which is broadly in line with other estimates.

Conscious of the necessity of strengthening the ties with [their] brother peoples, the Mauritanian people, Muslim people, Arab and African, proclaim that they will work for the realization of the unity of the Grand Maghreb, of the Arab Nation and of Africa and for the consolidation of peace in the world.

One of the common features of these conflicts, at least as they are presented in the international press, is their "ethnic" dimension, more precisely the generalization of an antagonism between "Whites" (Arabo-Berbers) and "Blacks", sometimes coupled with an antagonism between Muslims and non-Muslims. What is the situation, from this point of view, regarding the distinction between "Whites" and "Blacks" in Mauritania? Opposing the sudan (slaves and freedmen), the bidân, tribal people, were themselves organized into three hierarchical orders: the hassân warriors, who exercised traditional political power within the emirates, the zawâya religious figures who held economic and spiritual power, and the eznâga tributaries. These hierarchies have been partly found in the current State, with a marked promotion of the zawâya linked to their economic and intellectual power (11).

Some 30 per cent are Arab Moors, while around 30 per cent are members of sub-Saharan African ethnic groups. The remaining 40 per cent or so belong to the Haratin group, which is comprised of the descendants of former slaves who integrated themselves into the Moorish population.

The Mauritanian space brings together diverse populations, black and white, whose history of settlement does not correspond to the current geopolitics of the country.

It is estimated that White Moors constitute 30% of the population, while Haratin people (former slaves) constitute 40%, and the Hassaniya dialect unites these two groups. The third population group consists of black Africans of the Soninke, Fula, and Wolof tribes and constitutes 30%.

But ethnically they consist of two groups: - The Beidan group of Arabic and Berber-speaking Hassaniya: representing about 80% to 85% of the population, including the Black Haratin segment who make up 35% to 40% (unofficial) of the Arab group. - The Negro group: representing between 15% and 20% of the population, who are mostly dark-skinned.

40% Black Moors (Haratin), [12] 30% White Moors (Beidane), and Sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Zenaga, Fula, Soninke, Wolof, Bambara, [12] and Serer [1] ethnic groups. [12]

The incumbent, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, belongs to the elite, light-skinned Beïdhane(literally, ‘white’) ethnicity which has, since Mauritania’s independence in 1960, held virtually all political, military, economic and even intellectual power in the country.

Mauritania is populated by three principal groups: lighter-skinned people of mixed Arab-Berber heritage, known as Beydanes; Arabic-speaking darker-skinned people known as Haratines, the descendants of former slaves; and those belonging to sub-Saharan ethnic groups, speaking a range of other languages.

The population is made up of three major ethnic groupings: on the one hand the Arabic speaking groups including the Bidhân or “Arab-Berbers”, Arabic speaking peoples of mixed Arab and Berber origin, and the Haratin, the indigenous population of northwestern regions of the Sahara that form the largest ethnolinguist group in Mauritania (some 40% of the population); and on the other hand, non-Arabic-speaking ethnic communities such as the Wolof, Soninké, Haalpulaar.

Ethnic groups: Arabs (Haratin 45%, Beidane 40%), Africans -non-Arabic speaking- 15%

“At the top, there are the Beïdhane, the white Moors. They have everything. Next, us, the Afro-Negroes [he points with his index finger at the skin of his forearm]. And, even below that, there are the Haratine. They are Moors too; they speak the same language as the Beïdhane, but they are black like us [he does the same index-finger gesture]. In fact, they are the former slaves of the Beïdhane, and today they are even more despised than us.”

Descent-based slavery is deeply ingrained in Mauritanian society, which is highly stratified into three major cultural-ethnolinguistic groups: Beidhane, Hratin, and Afro-Mauritanian communities, also known as Black Africans, including Peuhls, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara communities.

The Maures (‘Moors’ or ‘Arab-Berbers’) of the population are divided into a dominant group, Beydan (spelt variously in English including ‘Bithan’) or white Maures, and their former slaves, Haratines, who are Black but of the same culture as their former enslavers.

Only light-skinned Moors are promoted to high office and Arabic is the official language.

Mauritania is populated by three main groups: the light-skinned Arabs or Beydanes, the Arabic-speaking Haratines or Black Moors, and dark-skinned people belonging to Sub-Saharan African groups.

Moorish society is composed of whites (the Beidanes) and blacks (the Haratins).

Ethnic groups | Black Moors (Haratines - Arab-speaking slaves, former slaves, and their descendants of African origin, enslaved by white Moors) 40%, White Moors (of Arab-Berber descent, known as Beydane) 30%, Sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Halpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara ethnic groups) 30%

At the top of the pyramid sit the Beydanes (whites) of Arab-Berber origin, representing 53% of the population, also called White Moors, followed by the Blacks, a mixed community made up of individuals of different ethnicities, representing about 13% of the population. On the basis of this hierarchy emerged the Haratines or Black Moors, who make up 34% of the population and are descendants of the slaves of the Beydanes.

Black Moors (Haratines - Arabic-speaking descendants of African origin who are or were enslaved by White Moors) 40%, White Moors (of Arab-Amazigh descent, known as Beydane) 30%, Sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Halpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara ethnic groups) 30%

The Haratin, or so-called "black moors", comprise 40%, while the Bidhan, or so-called "white moors", make up 30% of the population. The remaining 30% of the population comprises various sub-Saharan ethnic groups.

Despite its predominant Arabic identity, Mauritanian society is multi-ethnic. The Beidane, or so-called "White Moors", make up 30% of the population, while the Haratin, or so-called "Black Moors", make up 40%.

The population is made up of three principal groups: people speaking Hassaniya Arabic and of mixed Berber-Arab ancestry (collectively known as Beydanes or White Moors); those of dark skin colour who also speak Arabic (a group known as Haratines, descended from former slaves to the Berber-Arabs, many still in servile roles); and dark-skinned people who belong to sub-Saharan African ethnic groups (mainly the Fulani – known as Peul in French – Wolof, Soninké and Bambara, herders and cultivators who mostly live in the south of the country, along the Senegal river valley).

40% Black [Moors](./Moors) ([Haratins](./Haratin)), 30% Sahelian and West African Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the [Senegal River Valley](./Senegal_River_Valley), including Halpulaar, [Fulani](./Fula_people), [Soninke](./Soninke_people), [Wolof](./Wolof_people), [Bambara](./Bambara_people), and [Serer](./Serer_people) ethnic groups 30%), and 30% White Moors ([bidhans](./Beidane)).

Mauritania, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is an Arab-African country located in northwest Africa, between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Black Africa.

Whether the Beidhan (White Moor) are a majority or a minority, this debate over ethnic demographic sizes will never end, especially since the Haratin belonging to the 'IRA' movement used the same propaganda trick to declare themselves a majority.