City Africa
Nouakchott
Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania, a country in Africa. It is near the ocean. Much of Mauritania is desert.
Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. In 1950 it was a small camp of about 500 people. It became the capital in 1957 and has grown very fast since then: the census of 2023 counted 1,446,761 people.
Nouakchott, a camp of 500 people in 1950 beside a small French fort of 1903, was made Mauritania's capital in 1957 in place of Saint-Louis (Senegal). Built on dunes behind a coastal sand ridge, it grew with rural migration and the settling of nomads during the droughts of 1970–1973 and 1983–1984; the census of 25 December 2023 counted 1,446,761 people.
Photo: Laminesall96, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Nouakchott
Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania. Mauritania is a country in the west of Africa.
The city is close to the Atlantic Ocean. Much of Mauritania is desert.
Nouakchott has been the capital of Mauritania since 1957, Universalis says. It was built on sand dunes, sheltered from the ocean by a ridge of sand along the coast.
At the census of 25 December 2023, 1,446,761 people lived in Nouakchott, out of 4,927,532 in the whole country. That is almost three people in every ten in Mauritania.
Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Démographique et Économique (ANSADE), via City Population: Nouakchott 1,446,761 at the census of 25 December 2023 (Nouakchott-Nord 614,465, Nouakchott-Sud 627,415, Nouakchott-Ouest 204,881); Mauritania 4,927,532. The projection for 1 July 2026 is 1,558,100.
Universalis: built in the shelter of a coastal sand ridge (the Zbar), on the dunes of the Amoukrouz; capital of Mauritania since 1957.
- Country
- Mauritania (capital since 1957)
- People in Nouakchott (census, 25 December 2023)
- 1,446,761
- People in Mauritania (same census)
- 4,927,532
- Setting
- on dunes, sheltered by a sand ridge along the coast
The city center from the air
This photo was taken high above the city. Look at the long, wide road full of cars!
Far away, the flat city meets the sandy desert.
This photo looks down on the center of Nouakchott on 4 May 2017. A wide avenue lined with cars runs across the front, the main road called the RN2, the file's description says, and the runway of the old airport lies in the background on the right.
In the picture you can also see long apartment blocks, low flat-roofed buildings, walled areas of trees, and the city spreading flat to a sandy horizon.
Commons: '15-Nouakchott-eH-R0058185', aerial photograph of the city center (French description 'Centre ville de Nouakchott'), 4 May 2017, own work by Laminesall96, CC BY-SA 4.0; the German description names the avenue in front as the RN2 and the runway of the old Nouakchott airport in the background at right.
In the picture: the avenue with parked and moving cars; long apartment blocks at left; a white multi-story building and lower buildings in the middle; walled plots planted with trees; a swimming pool at right; the flat, low city reaching a hazy desert horizon.
- Photo
- aerial view of the city center, 4 May 2017
- In the background, right
- the runway of the old Nouakchott airport (the file's description)
- National Museum of Mauritania
- about 0.4 km east of the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
From a camp to a capital
Long ago, only about 500 people lived here. Then Nouakchott became the capital, and many, many people moved in.
In 1950, Nouakchott was a small camp of about 500 people, even though the French had set up a small fort there in 1903, Universalis says. In 1957 it was made the capital of Mauritania, in place of Saint-Louis, a city in today's Senegal.
After that the city grew very fast. Many people moved in from the countryside, and during long droughts, in 1970–1973 and 1983–1984, many nomads settled in the city.
Universalis: a modest camp of 500 inhabitants in 1950, despite the presence from 1903 of a small French military fort, Nouakchott was promoted capital of Mauritania in 1957 in place of Saint-Louis (Senegal). Its growth was then extremely rapid (138,000 in 1977, 393,000 in 1988, an estimated 835,000 in 2006), fed by strong rural migration and by the settling of nomads during the droughts of 1970–1973 and 1983–1984; by 2006 it held more than a quarter of the country's population.
Census counts (ANSADE via City Population): 134,704 (1977), 393,325 (1988), 558,195 (2000), 958,399 (2013), 1,446,761 (2023).
- 1950
- a small camp of about 500 people, beside a small French fort built from 1903
- Capital
- from 1957, in place of Saint-Louis (Senegal)
- Droughts
- 1970–1973 and 1983–1984, when many nomads settled in the city
Markets, a port and two airports
Nouakchott has a port for big ships. A new airport opened north of the city in 2016.
Nouakchott spread out from its old center, the Ksar, in the shape of a five-pointed star, with longer arms to the east, Universalis says. Instead of one old center around a mosque, as in many North African cities, life is organized around many markets.
Since 1989, a deep-water port southwest of the city has brought ships to Nouakchott. The city's new international airport opened in 2016, about 25 kilometers north of the city's center point on Wikidata.
Universalis: the city spread from the historic center of the Ksar (a walled village) as an asymmetric five-pointed star, extended to the east; unlike the cities of the Maghreb, it was not organized around a medina centered on a mosque but around its many markets. The central and western districts were planned in very regular plots and hold the functions of a capital (embassies, ministries). Since 1989 the Port de l'Amitié (Friendship Port), built southwest of the capital by the Chinese, has been one of the rare deep-water ports on the West African coast.
Wikidata (from the city's point, Q3688): Nouakchott Old Airport (Q1801326) 3.20 km ENE; Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport (Q25337089), opened 23 June 2016, 24.95 km N; Port of Nouakchott (Q16965304) 11.38 km SSW.
- Port of Nouakchott
- open since 1989, southwest of the city; one of the few deep-water ports on the West African coast
- Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport
- opened 23 June 2016, about 25 km north of the city's Wikidata point (Wikidata)
- City shape
- a five-pointed star spreading from the old Ksar, longer to the east
Very dry, with a little rain in late summer
Nouakchott is very dry. Almost no rain falls for most of the year.
A little rain comes in August and September.
The Japan Meteorological Agency's averages for 1991 to 2020 show a warm, very dry city. The average temperature is lowest in January, at 21.6 °C, and highest in September, at 29.6 °C.
Only about 132 millimeters of rain fall in a whole year, and most of it in August and September. In April and May the average rainfall is 0.0 millimeters.
Japan Meteorological Agency, world climate normals 1991–2020, Nouakchott (18.10° N, 15.95° W, 2 m): monthly mean temperature 21.6, 23.3, 24.4, 24.6, 25.7, 26.9, 27.4, 28.7, 29.6, 29.2, 25.9, 22.9 °C; precipitation 1.0, 0.1, 0.7, 0.0, 0.0, 3.6, 10.2, 46.4, 51.3, 7.9, 1.7, 8.8 mm, summing to 131.7 mm. August and September bring 97.7 mm, about three quarters of the year's rain.
The pattern is a short late-summer rainy season and a long dry season. WMO's World Weather Information Service has no table for Mauritania.
- Average temperature (1991–2020)
- 21.6 °C (January) to 29.6 °C (September)
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly normals)
- about 132 mm
- Wettest months
- August (46.4 mm) and September (51.3 mm)
Trade, transit and the port
Many people in Nouakchott buy and sell things in markets. Ships bring goods to the city's port.
Nouakchott has very little industry, Universalis says. Most work is in trade and in moving goods, around the city's many markets and, since 1989, through its deep-water port.
The city is also home to the National Museum of Mauritania, about 0.4 kilometers east of the city's center point on Wikidata.
Universalis: aimed mainly at a narrow national market, industry is scarcely present; trade and transit dominate the economy, joined since 1989 by the activity of the Port de l'Amitié, built southwest of the capital by the Chinese. The central and western districts hold the embassies and ministries of a political and economic capital.
Wikidata: National Museum of Mauritania (Q2370438), a national museum, 0.40 km E of the city's point.
- Main activities
- trade and transit; very little industry
- Share of the country (2006)
- more than a quarter of Mauritania's people
- National Museum of Mauritania
- a national museum in Nouakchott (Wikidata)
Nouakchott on the map
Find Mauritania on the globe, in the west of Africa. Nouakchott is on the coast, by the Atlantic Ocean.
Nouakchott lies at about 18° north, on Mauritania's Atlantic coast.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, the National Museum is about 0.4 kilometers east, the old airport about 3.2 kilometers east-northeast, the port about 11 kilometers south-southwest and the new airport about 25 kilometers north.
Nouakchott lies at about 18.09° N and 15.98° W (Natural Earth point, 0.34 km E of the Wikidata point). From the Wikidata point (Q3688): National Museum of Mauritania 0.40 km E; Nouakchott Old Airport 3.20 km ENE; Port of Nouakchott 11.38 km SSW; Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport 24.95 km N.
Universalis places the port southwest of the capital and the city on the dunes behind the coastal ridge.
- Latitude
- about 18.1° north
- Longitude
- about 16.0° west
- Coast
- the Atlantic Ocean
Amazing facts
-
In 1950, only about 500 people lived in Nouakchott.
In 1950 Nouakchott was a small camp of about 500 people, Universalis says. At the 2023 census it had 1,446,761.
Universalis: a modest camp of 500 inhabitants in 1950; ANSADE census of 25 December 2023 (via City Population): 1,446,761.
-
Nouakchott grew out from its old center in the shape of a star.
From its old center, the Ksar, Nouakchott spread out in the shape of a five-pointed star, with longer arms to the east, Universalis says.
Universalis: the city spread from the historic center of the Ksar as a five-pointed star, asymmetric in favor of the east.
-
In April and May, almost no rain falls in Nouakchott.
In the Japan Meteorological Agency's averages for 1991 to 2020, April and May both have 0.0 millimeters of rain.
JMA normals 1991–2020, Nouakchott: April 0.0 mm, May 0.0 mm; year 131.7 mm.
-
Nouakchott's port is deep enough for big ships.
Nouakchott's port, open since 1989, is one of the few deep-water ports on the coast of West Africa, Universalis says.
Universalis: the Port de l'Amitié, active since 1989, is one of the rare deep-water ports along the West African coast.
Words to know
- capital
- the city where a country's government works
- dune
- a hill of sand piled up by the wind
- drought
- a long time with much less rain than usual
- nomad
- a person who moves from place to place, often with animals, instead of living in one home
- deep-water port
- a port deep enough for large ships to come right in
- census
- an official count of all the people in a place
Discovery challenge
-
Nouakchott is the capital of which country?
Nouakchott is the capital of which West African country?
Made a capital in 1957, Nouakchott is the capital of which country?
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Malaysia
Show the answer
Mauritania
Mauritania!
Mauritania.
Mauritania.
-
About how many people lived in Nouakchott in 1950?
About how many people lived in Nouakchott in 1950?
Universalis describes Nouakchott in 1950 as a camp of about how many inhabitants?
- About 500
- About 50,000
- About 5 million
Show the answer
About 500
Only about 500!
About 500.
About 500.
-
When did Nouakchott become the capital?
In which year did Nouakchott become the capital of Mauritania?
In which year did Nouakchott replace Saint-Louis as Mauritania's capital?
- 1957
- 1857
- 2007
Show the answer
1957
1957!
1957.
1957.
-
Which months bring the most rain to Nouakchott?
In the JMA averages, which months get the most rain?
JMA 1991–2020: which two months bring 97.7 mm of the year's 131.7 mm?
- August and September
- January and February
- April and May
Show the answer
August and September
August and September!
August and September.
August (46.4 mm) and September (51.3 mm).
-
What is the city built on?
What land was Nouakchott built on?
According to Universalis, Nouakchott was built on what, sheltered by a coastal ridge?
- Sand dunes
- A volcano
- An ice sheet
Show the answer
Sand dunes
Sand dunes!
Sand dunes, sheltered by a ridge of sand along the coast.
The dunes of the Amoukrouz, sheltered by the Zbar.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Nouakchott on Mauritania's Atlantic coast.
- Describe how a camp of 500 people grew into a capital of more than a million.
- Explain how droughts can make people move to cities.
- Read a rainfall table and find the short rainy season.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might people who move with their herds settle in a city during a long drought?
- What would a city need to grow from 500 to more than a million people?
- How is a city organized around markets different from one built around a single old center?
Try at home or in class
- Rain jars: mark Nouakchott's 132 mm and your own town's yearly rain on two jars and compare.
- Growth line: plot Nouakchott's census counts from 1977 to 2023 on squared paper.
- Star city: draw a city that grows out from its center in five arms, and decide where the markets go.
Key vocabulary: capital, dune, drought, nomad, deep-water port, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Nouakchott , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- Mauritania: Regions, Major Cities & Localities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Démographique et Économique
- Nouakchott: monthly climate normals 1991–2020 , Japan Meteorological Agency
- File:15-Nouakchott-eH-R0058185.jpg (Laminesall96, 4 May 2017) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.