Friday, Aug 21, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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Mauritania includes a substantial White Moor population of Arab-Berber descent.

The Claim

All citizens of Mauritania are Black.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

Mauritania’s citizens are not racially or ethnically uniform. Multiple credible sources identify a substantial White Moor/Beydane population of Arab-Berber descent, alongside Haratines and Sub-Saharan African groups. Estimates of each group’s share vary, but none support the assertion that every citizen is Black.

Caveats

  • Racial and ethnic labels in Mauritania are socially and historically contested rather than scientifically fixed.
  • Estimates of the relative sizes of Mauritania’s ethnic groups vary across sources.
  • African nationality or identity does not establish that every individual is racially Black.

The Receipts

  1. Mauritania Facts, Map, Population, GDP | The World Factbook

    theworldfactbook.org

  2. Mauritania (12/08)

    2001-2009.state.gov

  3. Ethnicité, discrimination et autres lignes rouges - Human Rights Watch

    hrw.org

  4. Mauritania’s Unfolding Landscape

    chathamhouse.org

  5. docstore.ohchr.org

    docstore.ohchr.org

  6. Mauritania’s Unfolding Landscape | 3. Mauritania’s Societal Complexities

    chathamhouse.org

  7. Mauritania 1991 (rev. 2012) Constitution - Constitute

    constituteproject.org

  8. "Blancs" et "Noirs" au Sahel : la situation en Mauritanie - Persée

    persee.fr

  9. Mauritania | BMZ

    bmz.de

  10. Interculturalité arabo-berbère et négro-africaine au sud de la Méditerranée : espace mauritanien : IEMed

    iemed.org

+ 23 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Mauritania

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