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Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in the Maghreb region of West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest.
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Text adapted from the Wikipedia article “Mauritania”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Read full article
Mauritania · 1960–2025
Population data from World Bank (2025), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Series covers 1960–2025.
Nouakchott is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania.
Nouadhibou, formerly named Port-Étienne, is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial center. The city has about 173,000 inhabitants. It is situated on a 65-kilometre peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou, Cap Blanc, or Cabo Blanco, of which the western side has the city of La Güera.
Rosso is the major city of south-western Mauritania and capital of Trarza region. It is situated on the Senegal River at the head of the river zone allowing year-round navigation.
Kaédi is the largest city and administrative center of the Gorgol Region of Southern Mauritania, located on the border with Senegal. It is approximately 435 km from Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott.
Kiffa is a large town in the far south region of Mauritania, and the name of an administrative area within the local Assaba Region.
Zouérat is the largest town in northern Mauritania and the capital of the Tiris Zemmour region, with an approximate population of 62,380 (2023). It lies at the eastern end of the Mauritania Railway to Nouadhibou.