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Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania: facts and figures
Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania. It has about 1,200,000 residents, which makes it the 105th most populous capital of the 172 in DailyGeo's atlas, and it sits 7 m above sea level. Its nearest neighbouring capital is Dakar, 406 km away.
Key figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Mauritania |
| Continent | Africa |
| City population | 1,200,000 residents |
| World rank by population | 105th of 172 |
| Elevation | 7 m |
| Founded | not reported |
| Time zone | Africa/Nouakchott |
| Coordinates | 18.08° N, 15.98° W |
| Country population | 5,315,065 residents |
| Country GDP | 11.7 billion US dollars |
| GDP per capita | $2,198 |
| Life expectancy | 68.7 years |
| Internet users | 45.8 % |
| Big Mac price | not reported |
Climate through the year
Nouakchott averages 23.1 °C from December to February and 27.2 °C from June to August. January is the coldest month of the year and October the warmest, and the city receives 59 mm of precipitation in an average year.
| Month | Mean temperature |
|---|---|
| January | 22.5 °C |
| February | 23.4 °C |
| March | 24.1 °C |
| April | 25.0 °C |
| May | 25.5 °C |
| June | 27.5 °C |
| July | 26.4 °C |
| August | 27.8 °C |
| September | 29.4 °C |
| October | 29.7 °C |
| November | 26.5 °C |
| December | 23.3 °C |
What makes it stand out
- Rainfall: 3rd driest capital in Africa (59 mm).
Nearest capitals
Distances are great-circle distances between city centres, which is what the Capitals game measures when it tells you how far a guess was from the answer. Dakar is the closest capital to Nouakchott.
| Capital | Country | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dakar | Senegal | 406 km |
| Banjul | Gambia | 519 km |
| Bissau | Guinea-Bissau | 693 km |
| Praia | Cape Verde | 876 km |
| Conakry | Guinea | 974 km |
How to remember it
Reading a figure once rarely fixes it in memory. Attach Nouakchott to a place and a number you already know: it is 406 km from Dakar, and it is the 105th largest capital in the atlas. Then practise retrieving it. DailyGeo Capitals gives you one mystery capital a day with distance, direction, language and population clues, the memorising method explains the review schedule, and the capitals index lists all 172.
To see how Mauritania compares with every other country on figures like these, the richest countries by GDP per capita ranks them on geopolitix, a country-ranking game by the same maker as DailyGeo.
Sources
- City population and coordinates: DailyGeo's own game data, the same figures the Capitals game plays with. Population follows the urban area rather than the commune, which is why no density is quoted.
- Temperature and rainfall: ten-year means (2015 to 2024) computed from ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Hersbach, H., et al. (2020). The ERA5 global reanalysis. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Elevation: terrain height at the city's coordinates in the Copernicus DEM, read through Open-Meteo rather than taken from a curated claim.
- Time zone: resolved from the same coordinates.
- Country figures: the World Bank, latest reported year for each series: Country GDP, GDP per capita, Country population, Life expectancy, Internet users.
- This capital elsewhere: Wikipedia, UNdata, Wikidata.
- Method and limits: How this data was collected explains how each figure was collected and what it does not cover.
The short answer
Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania, in Africa, with about 1,200,000 residents, averaging 23.1 °C from December to February and 27.2 °C from June to August.
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Play today's DailyGeo puzzleFrequently asked questions
What is the capital of Mauritania?
Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania. It has about 1,200,000 residents and lies in Africa.
How many people live in Nouakchott?
About 1,200,000, which ranks Nouakchott 105th of the 172 capitals in DailyGeo's atlas by city population.
What is the weather like in Nouakchott?
Nouakchott averages 23.1 °C from December to February and 27.2 °C from June to August, with 59 mm of precipitation a year. These are ten-year means from ERA5 reanalysis.
How expensive is Nouakchott?
GDP per capita in the country is $2,198, the latest year the World Bank reports.
Keep learning
- Dakar, capital of Senegal: facts and figures
Dakar is the capital of Senegal: 3,100,000 residents, 35 m above sea level, 23.2 °C from December to February and 26.2 °C from June to August. Key figures and sources.
- Banjul, capital of Gambia: facts and figures
Banjul is the capital of Gambia: 440,000 residents, 2 m above sea level, 25.6 °C from December to February and 26.8 °C from June to August. Key figures and sources.
- Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau: facts and figures
Bissau is the capital of Guinea-Bissau: 490,000 residents, 22 m above sea level, 26.5 °C from December to February and 26.7 °C from June to August.
- Capitals of the world: the full list by continent
Every capital in DailyGeo's atlas, grouped by continent, with population, elevation and winter and summer temperatures, each linking to its own data page.