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Mauritania–Senegal Border War was a conflict fought between the West African countries of Mauritania and Senegal during 1989–1991. The conflict began around disputes over the two countries' River Senegal border and grazing rights, and resulted in the rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries for several years, the creation of thousands of refugees from both sides, as well as having a significant impact on domestic Senegalese politics.

Mauritania's south is mostly populated by the Fula/Toucouleur, Wolof, and Soninké. Senegal, meanwhile, is dominated by the Wolof.

The Senegal River basin between Mauritania and Senegal has for centuries been inhabited by both black populations, such as the Fula/Toucouleur, Wolof, Bambara, and Soninké, and by Arabs and Berber peoples. Periods of drought throughout the 1980s increased tensions over available arable land, with the basin becoming even more important because of development of the basin by the Organisation pour la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal (Senegal River Basin Development Authority), which constructed dams, such as the one at Djama, that altered the balance between herders and farmers by opening new parts of the valley to irrigation. Mauritania's attempts at land reform in 1983 strengthened the role of the state while undermining traditional agriculture, making more acute the problem of many farmers on both sides of the border. Both Mauritania and Senegal are former French colonies; however, since its independence, Mauritania has sought to reinforce its Arab identity, including the strengthening of ties with the Arab world. Senegal, in comparison, remained attached to the Organization international de la Francophonie, resulting in increasingly divergent foreign policies in the two countries.

These factors led to a deterioration in relations between Mauritania and Senegal, with both countries hardening their stances against each other with each further incident. This created an explosive situation that was stirred up by both countries' domestic news media, which focused heavily on the ethnic dimensions to the conflict.

The departure of massive numbers of people lead to an incredible disruption in the balance of the Senegal River valley, causing a decline in agricultural production and an increase in deforestation. In Mauritania the construction and fishing industries, which were traditionally staffed by the Senegalese, also suffered from the expulsions. The water, sanitation, and general infrastructure of the Senegalese bank of the river, already operating at peak capacity, was overwhelmed by the sheer number of refugees. The Senegalese population centers of Podor and Matam saw their populations grow by 13.6% and 12% respectively. The populations of some other villages in Senegal double.

In terms of domestic politics in Senegal, the conflict may have contributed to the rise of the PDS and Abdoulaye Wade due to the then government’s inability to deal with the social crisis caused by the influx of vast numbers of refugees. Senegal was further undermined by its neighbors following the war, with problems over the demarcation of the border with Guinea-Bissau has arisen in the wake of the conflict, and difficulties with the Gambia leading to the dissolution of the Senegambia Confederation in 1989. The period of conflict has also had a lasting impact on relations between Mauritania and Senegal as well as domestic perceptions of each other.

The country derives its name from the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which existed from the 3rd century BC to the 7th century, in the far north of modern-day Morocco. Approximately 90% of Mauritania's land is within the Sahara and consequently, the population is concentrated in the south, where precipitation is slightly higher. The capital and largest city are Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast, which is home to around one-third of the country's 3.5 million people. The government was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won.

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The ouguiya (sign: UM; currency code: MRO), also spelt "ougiya", is the currency of Mauritania. It is one of two circulating currencies, along with the Malagasy ariary, whose division units are not based on a power of ten, each ouguiya comprising five khoums (singular and plural in English, meaning "one fifth"). The ouguiya was introduced in 1973, replacing the CFA franc at a rate of 1 ouguiya = 5 francs.

In 1973, 1/5 (1 khoums), 1, 5, 10 and 20 ouguiya coins were introduced. This was the only year that the khoums was minted, as the ouguiya was worth five CFA Francs a khoums was the equivalent of the franc (which had no subdivision). The most recent issues were in 2003 (1 ouguiya) and 2004 (other denominations). Coins are minted at the Kremnica mint in Slovakia. The coinage slightly changed in 2009, with a reduced 1 ouguiya in plated composition and a bi-metallic 20 ouguiya issued. A bi-metallic 50 ouguiya was issued December 2010.

In 1973, notes were issued by the Central Bank of Mauritania (Banque Centrale de Mauritanie) in denominations of 100, 200 and 1,000 ouguiya. In 1974, the second series of notes was issued in the same denominations, with 500 ouguiya notes added in 1979. Banknotes have been printed by Giesecke & Devrient in Munich, starting with the second issue. New banknotes were introduced in 2004. These notes have completely new fronts and the vignettes on the backs have been redesigned to accommodate the reduction in size. The 2,000-ouguiya denomination is entirely new. All but the 100- and 200-ouguiya notes have the denomination expressed in Arabic numerals in a holographic patch at right front. The serial numbers for all denominations now appear horizontally at upper left and lower center, and vertically at far right, all formatted with a 2-character prefix, 7-digit serial number, and 1-character suffix. An entirely new 5,000-ouguiya denomination dated 28.11.2009 was introduced on 8 August 2010, followed by a redesigned 2,000-ouguiya note dated 28.11.2011 issued on 1 February 2012.