5 Facts of Mauritania

The capital of Mauritania is Nouakchott

Mauritania is a West African country next to the Atlantic Ocean. The Western Sahara borders it on the north side, and the countries of Mali, Algeria and Senegal also surround it. Here are some interesting facts you may not know about Mauritania:

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

Mauritania is a very arid country, being made up of about three quarters desert and semi-desert regions. Much of western Mauritania is covered by sand dunes, which are sometimes moved around by the winds.

2

The Mauritanian city of Chinguetti, originally founded in the 8th century by the Berbers, was once a major center of trade in the Sahara desert. After a gradual decline, Chinguetti was re-founded in the 13th century as a trading center connecting sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean. Chinguetti also became a staging ground for pilgrims on the way to Mecca and a center of Islamic scholarship. Today, Chinguetti still holds largely abandoned libraries of medieval manuscripts and a legacy of stark architecture that was begun under the Berbers.

3

Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, is by far the largest city in the country and one the biggest cities in all of the Sahara. Nouakchott, then a small port town, was chosen in 1957 to be the capital of Mauritania upon its independence in 1960, and measures were implemented in 1958 to bring the city population up to 15,000. As of 1999, Nouakchott boasts a population of over 880,000.

4

Mauritania was the last country in the world to legally abolish slavery, outlawing it in 1981. Slavery remains a huge problem and major source of ethnic tensions, with up to 20% of the population still being enslaved in practice.

5

Mauritania is a country rich in deposits of iron ore, the sales of which account for nearly half of all exports. Gold and copper mines are currently being opened in the interior.