Mauritania

Mauritania overview

Mauritania is in Western Africa, Africa. Its capital is Nouakchott. The World Bank counts about 5.3 million people for 2025 on 1,030,700 km² of surface area.

In the Travle map, Mauritania has 4 neighbours: Algeria, Mali, Senegal and Western Sahara. From there, 125 countries can be reached by land.

Population, density and language

The World Bank counts 5,315,065 people in Mauritania for 2025, which is 123rd of 170 by population. Spread over 1,030,700 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 5.2 people per km², 159th of 169 by density.

Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.

CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.

How big is Mauritania, really?

With 1,030,700 km² (2024, land plus inland water), Mauritania is 28th of 169 by surface area and covers 0.73% of the combined area of those entries.

In that ordering, Bolivia (1,098,580 km²) is just larger; Egypt (1,001,450 km²) just smaller.

Mauritania at a glance

Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.

Mauritania within Western Africa

Natural Earth places Mauritania in Western Africa (UN subregion). Of the 15 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, Mauritania is 13th by population and 3rd by surface area, with 1.1% of the combined population of those entries.

Entries in Western Africa from Travle's country list, by World Bank population

Country	Population (2025)	Area km² (2024)
Nigeria	237,527,782	923,768
Ghana	35,064,272	238,539
Côte d'Ivoire	32,711,547	322,460
Niger	27,917,831	1,267,000
Mali	25,198,821	1,241,238
Burkina Faso	24,074,580	274,200
Senegal	18,931,966	196,710
Guinea	15,099,727	245,857
Benin	14,814,460	114,760
Sierra Leone	8,819,794	72,300
Togo	8,591,626	56,785
Liberia	5,731,206	111,370
Mauritania	5,315,065	1,030,700
The Gambia	2,822,093	11,295
Guinea-Bissau	2,249,515	36,125

Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.

Location, borders and position

Mauritania is in Western Africa, Africa. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the northern hemisphere and the western hemisphere. Its capital, Nouakchott, is at about 18.1° N and 16.0° W.

On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives Mauritania 4 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 4.

Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.

Where Mauritania is on the map

Countries bordering Mauritania

Natural Earth's boundary data and the Travle map agree on these 4 land neighbours.

Land neighbours of Mauritania: geographic boundary data compared with the Travle game map

Country	Direction	Land boundary in Natural Earth	Border in Travle
Algeria	north-east	Yes	Yes
Mali	south-east	Yes	Yes
Senegal	south-west	Yes	Yes
Western Sahara	north	Yes	Yes

Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.

Money and language in Mauritania

Currency

• Ouguiya: code MRU, numeric 929. ISO 4217 lists it for this country only.

Official languages

• Arabic: official in 26 territories in CLDR, including Mauritania.

CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.

Currency, domain and dialling code

Mauritania codes and abbreviations

Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.

Fun facts about Mauritania

• Arabic has official status in 26 territories in Unicode CLDR, Mauritania among them.
• The longest Travle trip from Mauritania takes 13 steps, to Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
• UNESCO lists 2 World Heritage properties in Mauritania; the earliest inscription dates from 1989.

Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.

How far can you travel from Mauritania in Travle?

Starting from Mauritania and moving one border at a time, this is how many countries in the game's map you reach at each step. Countries that need a sea crossing never appear, because the game only follows land borders.

In total 125 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 13 steps and end in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. The other 46 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (18 in North America, 13 in South America, 6 in Oceania, 5 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 1 in Africa).

Nearby routes from Mauritania

Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.

• Algeria: 1 step (Mauritania → Algeria)
• Mali: 1 step (Mauritania → Mali)
• Senegal: 1 step (Mauritania → Senegal)
• Western Sahara: 1 step (Mauritania → Western Sahara)
• Burkina Faso: 2 steps (Mauritania → Mali → Burkina Faso)
• Côte d'Ivoire: 2 steps (Mauritania → Mali → Côte d'Ivoire)
• Guinea: 2 steps (Mauritania → Mali → Guinea)
• Guinea-Bissau: 2 steps (Mauritania → Senegal → Guinea-Bissau)
• Libya: 2 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Libya)
• Morocco: 2 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Morocco)
• Niger: 2 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Niger)
• The Gambia: 2 steps (Mauritania → Senegal → The Gambia)
• Tunisia: 2 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Tunisia)
• Benin: 3 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Niger → Benin)
• Chad: 3 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Libya → Chad)
• Egypt: 3 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Libya → Egypt)
• Ghana: 3 steps (Mauritania → Mali → Burkina Faso → Ghana)
• Liberia: 3 steps (Mauritania → Mali → Côte d'Ivoire → Liberia)
• Nigeria: 3 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Niger → Nigeria)
• Sierra Leone: 3 steps (Mauritania → Mali → Guinea → Sierra Leone)
• Spain: 3 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Morocco → Spain)
• Sudan: 3 steps (Mauritania → Algeria → Libya → Sudan)
• Togo: 3 steps (Mauritania → Mali → Burkina Faso → Togo)

World Heritage in Mauritania

UNESCO lists 2 World Heritage properties in Mauritania: 1 natural and 1 cultural. The first, inscribed in 1989, was Banc d'Arguin National Park.

• Banc d'Arguin National Park (natural, inscribed 1989)
• Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata (cultural, inscribed 1996)

Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.

Mauritania — frequently asked questions

What is the capital of Mauritania?

Nouakchott.

Which countries border Mauritania?

On land, Algeria, Mali, Senegal and Western Sahara, according to Natural Earth's boundary data. The Travle map uses the same neighbours.

What currency and language does Mauritania use?

The currency is the Ouguiya (MRU). Unicode CLDR gives Arabic official status.

How far can you travel from Mauritania in Travle?

Following land borders only, 125 countries are reachable. The farthest need 13 steps: Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

How many people live in Mauritania?

The World Bank counts 5,315,065 people for 2025.

How big is Mauritania?

1,030,700 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.

What is the dialling code and internet domain of Mauritania?

The international dialling code is +222 and the country-code domain is .mr.

What time zone does Mauritania use?

UTC+00:00 all year (2026).

Keep exploring

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