50 free Mauritania trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Mauritania is a country of sand and Atlantic surf where the Arab Maghreb meets sub-Saharan Africa: 90 percent of it lies in the Sahara, and its capital did not exist as a city until 1958. This quiz covers the geography (the Adrar Plateau, the Eye of the Sahara, the barren El Djouf, the bird-thronged Banc d'Arguin) and the history, from the Almoravids and the Char Bouba War through French West Africa, independence in 1960, the Western Sahara misadventure and the string of coups that ended only with the 2019 handover. It also digs into culture and daily life: Hassaniya Arabic, the Bidhan and Haratin, the iggawen musicians and their tidinit lute, three rounds of mint tea, the manuscript libraries of Chinguetti, the trains up to three kilometres long that haul iron ore to Nouadhibou, and the 2017 referendum that put two red stripes on the flag. Some questions are grim but essential, including the persistence of slavery decades after its abolition. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on Mauritania, Nouakchott, the Richat Structure, Chinguetti, the Mauritania Railway, Banc d'Arguin and the flag, and each question carries the sentence that supports it.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the capital and largest city of Mauritania?
Nouakchott
Roughly a third of the country's people live there.
Q 02Which ocean forms Mauritania's western border?
The Atlantic
Its land neighbours include Algeria and Mali.
Q 03Roughly what share of Mauritania's territory is Saharan desert?
90%
Most people live in the more temperate south along the river valley.
Q 04What is Mauritania's official full name?
Islamic Republic
Almost the entire population is Sunni Muslim.
Q 05What is the official language of Mauritania?
Arabic
Pulaar, Soninke and Wolof are recognised as national languages, and French is still used in schools and business.
Q 06What is the name of the local dialect spoken by most Mauritanians?
Hassaniya
It is named for the Beni Hassan tribe and contains many Berber words.
Q 07Mauritania's name comes from an ancient Berber kingdom that lay where?
Far to the north on the Mediterranean
The Roman province of Mauretania stretched across northern Morocco and Algeria.
Q 08Arab geographers knew the country as Bilad Chinqit, 'the land of' which city?
Chinguetti
The medieval caravan town holds five libraries of manuscripts and was listed by UNESCO in 1996.
Q 09Which 11th-century Berber movement rose from Mauritania's deserts to build an empire reaching Spain?
The Almoravids
According to a disputed tradition they conquered the Ghana Empire around 1076.
Q 10The Char Bouba War of 1644-1674 was the last failed indigenous effort to repel which invaders?
The Maqil Arabs
The victorious Beni Hassan became the top stratum of Moorish society and gave their name to the local dialect.
Q 11Mauritania was colonised in the early 20th century as part of which colonial federation?
French West Africa
Xavier Coppolani led the French mission from 1901.
Q 12Mauritania became independent in which year?
1960
Independence came on 28 November.
Q 13The capital was chosen while still little more than what?
A fortified fishing village
Construction to turn it into a city began in 1958.
Q 14Who was Mauritania's first president, ousted in a bloodless coup in 1978?
Q 21Slavery in Mauritania has been officially abolished how many times?
Three
In 1905, 1981 and 2007, yet the Global Slavery Index still estimated 90,000 enslaved people in 2018.
Q 22Which two groups together make up about 70 percent of Mauritania's population?
Haratin and Bidhan
The remaining 30 percent are largely sub-Saharan groups such as the Halpulaar and Wolof.
Q 23Mauritania expelled some 70,000 black citizens during a 1989 conflict with which neighbour?
Senegal
The violence began with a dispute over grazing rights at Diawara.
Moktar Ould Daddah
He had led the country into a disastrous war over the territory to its north.
Q 15Mauritania annexed part of which territory in 1976 before withdrawing in 1979?
Western Sahara
Morocco took over its claim after defeats by the Polisario Front.
Q 16Which colonel ruled Mauritania for 21 years until a coup in August 2005?
Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
He was overthrown while attending the funeral of Saudi King Fahd.
Q 17In 1999 Mauritania became one of only a few Arab League members to formally recognise which country?
Israel
Relations were broken off again after the 2008 coup.
Q 18Mauritania's first fully democratic multi-candidate presidential election was held in which year?
2007
Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi won it, and was deposed by a coup the following year.
Q 19Which general led the 2008 coup and then won presidential elections in 2009 and 2014?
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
He was later jailed for corruption in December 2023.
Q 20The 2019 election of Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was notable as what?
The first peaceful transfer of power since independence
He was re-elected for a second term in June 2024.
Q 24What is the highest peak in Mauritania?
Kediet ej Jill
It rises to 915 metres near the mining town of Zouîrât.
Q 25The Richat Structure in the Adrar Plateau is nicknamed what?
The Eye of the Sahara
Its concentric rings are about 40 km across and are best seen from space.
Q 26What do geologists explain the Richat Structure as, after ruling out an impact crater?
An eroded dome from an igneous intrusion
It was once assumed to be an impact crater, but no shock metamorphism was found in the 1960s.
Q 27A 2020 Discovery Channel episode floated the Richat Structure as a candidate location for what?
The lost city of Atlantis
Its concentric rings resemble Plato's description of the city.
Q 28What is the name of the vast dune region in Mauritania's northeast, known as the 'Empty Quarter'?
El Djouf
The plateaus descend gradually toward it before merging into the greater desert.
Q 29Which mineral accounted for almost half of Mauritania's exports in the early 2020s?
Iron ore
Gold and copper mines were also opening in the interior, and offshore gas exports began in 2025.
Q 30The Mauritania Railway links the mines at Zouérat with which port?
Nouadhibou
The single line runs 704 km across the desert.