Mauritania 🇲🇷
Mauritania is a country in Africa with a population of 4,736,139. Its capital is Nouakchott. The official currency is MRU, and the main languages are Arabic.
Quick facts
- Capital: Nouakchott
- Continent: Africa
- Population: 4,736,139
- Area: 1,030,700 km²
- Density: 4.6 people per km²
- Currency: MRU
- Languages: Arabic
- ISO code: MR
Where Mauritania sits
Mauritania 🇲🇷 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Nouakchott. It covers 1,030,700 square kilometres — 28th in the world — and is home to about 4,736,139 people, 125th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Mauritania compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Mauritania sits closest to Oman and Ireland. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Egypt and Bolivia.
At 4.6 people per square kilometre it is far below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.
Arabic is an official language in 25 countries here, among them Algeria, Bahrain, Chad and Comoros, and 20 others. The MRU is used by Mauritania and no one else.
To see Mauritania next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Mauritania
Nouakchott was built as a brand-new capital for independence in 1960, on the Atlantic coast. For the flag: the gold crescent and star of the desert, framed top and bottom in red.
The flag of Mauritania: green, gold and red
🇲🇷 The flag is a green flag with a gold crescent and star, and a red stripe along the top and bottom. The green and the gold crescent and star are symbols of Islam, the gold also stands for the sands of the Sahara, and the red stripes, added in 2017, honour those who defended the country.
Region and neighbours
Mauritania is a large country in northwest Africa on the Atlantic coast, mostly covered by the Sahara Desert. It shares land borders with 3 countries: Algeria, Mali and Senegal. It also borders Western Sahara, a disputed territory to the north.
- Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
- Mali 🇲🇱 — capital Bamako
- Senegal 🇸🇳 — capital Dakar
Three facts about Mauritania
- The Richat Structure, a huge ring-shaped landform about 40 km across, is known as the 'Eye of the Sahara' and can be seen from space.
- Banc d'Arguin National Park, a coast full of migrating birds, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Iron ore trains in Mauritania are among the longest and heaviest trains in the world.
Sources: Wikipedia: Mauritania, Wikipedia: Flag of Mauritania, Wikipedia: Richat Structure, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Mauritania
- African capitals quiz — match Mauritania to Nouakchott
- African flags quiz — spot the Mauritania flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Mauritania
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Mauritania those are:
- Africa map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Africa flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Africa capitals quiz — match it to Nouakchott
- Mauritania capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Mauritania
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Mauritania
- Capital of Mauritania: Nouakchott — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 54 countries of Africa
Nearby countries
- Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
- Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda
- Benin 🇧🇯 — capital Porto-Novo
- Botswana 🇧🇼 — capital Gaborone
- Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 — capital Ouagadougou
- Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
- Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 — capital Praia
- Cameroon 🇨🇲 — capital Yaoundé
- Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
- Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
- Comoros 🇰🇲 — capital Moroni
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Mauritania flag?
The flag of Mauritania is a green flag with a gold crescent and star, and a red stripe along the top and bottom. The green and the gold crescent and star are symbols of Islam, the gold also stands for the sands of the Sahara, and the red stripes, added in 2017, honour those who defended the country.
Which countries border Mauritania?
Mauritania shares land borders with Algeria, Mali and Senegal. It also borders Western Sahara, a disputed territory to the north.
How can I remember the capital of Mauritania?
Nouakchott was built as a brand-new capital for independence in 1960, on the Atlantic coast. For the flag: the gold crescent and star of the desert, framed top and bottom in red.