| Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara |
| Geographic coordinates | 20 00 N, 12 00 W |
| Map references | Africa |
| Area | total: 1,030,700 sq km land: 1,030,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico; about six times the size of Florida |
| Land boundaries | total: 5,002 km border countries (4): Algeria 460 km, Mali 2236 km, Morocco 1564 km, Senegal 742 km |
| Coastline | 754 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate | desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty |
| Terrain | mostly barren, flat plains of the Sahara; some central hills |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Kediet Ijill 915 m lowest point: Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha -5 m mean elevation: 276 m |
| Natural resources | iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish |
| Land use | agricultural land: 38.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 38.1% (2018 est.) forest: 0.2% (2018 est.) other: 61.3% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 450 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 11.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
| Geography - note | Mauritania is considered both a part of North Africa's Maghreb region and West Africa's Sahel region; most of the population is concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
