🇲🇷 Is Mauritania safe to visit?
Daily safety index from official government advisories, plus the consular map of Mauritania: 8 diplomatic missions from 8 countries, local emergency numbers and language essentials.
Updated Nov 14, 2026 · Composite index recalculated daily from official government advisories.
What official sources say
Levels are normalized to Telcomia's 1–4 scale. Always read the full official advisory at the source.
What to know before traveling to Mauritania
Drawn from the linked official advisories — always check the full text at the source.
Trip essentials
- British Embassy in Nouakchott offers no in-person consular services; contact British Embassy in Dakar, Senegal
- Travelling against UK government advice may invalidate your travel insurance
- Visa required: obtainable online via the official National Agency for Population Registration website
- Passport must be valid for more than 6 months; if not, visa will be denied and entry refused
- Land border crossings require individual express authorization from Mauritanian authorities, which can take up to a week
- Border crossing Diama-Senegal closed during rainy season July–October; route crosses Diawling National Park on poor dirt track
Risk areas and situations
- Do not travel east of a line through Kankossa, Akhreijit, Ghallaouia, Zouerat and Fderîck to the Western Sahara border
- Do not travel within 25km of the Mali border in the south, including Khabou
- Avoid non-essential travel within 25km of the Western Sahara border, except Nouakchott-Nouadhibou road and Nouadhibou city
- Avoid non-essential travel to Tiris Zemmour, Assaba, Hodh el Gharbi, Gorgol, Guidimaka, parts of Adrar and Tagant
- Low risk: coastal corridor Nouadhibou–Nouakchott–Rosso
- Medium risk: area between the coast and the 12°W meridian, roughly Zouerate–Ouadane–Tidjikja–Kiffa–Kankossa line
- High risk: east of the 12°W meridian and borders with Western Sahara, Algeria and Mali; avoid travel
- Prohibited Zone declared by Mauritanian Ministry of Defence since 12 July 2017: quadrilateral Cheggat–Ain Bentili–Dhar Tichitt–Lemreyye
Local laws and customs
- Importing and selling alcohol is banned throughout the country
- Importing and selling pork-derived products is also prohibited
Emergency numbers in Mauritania
Embassies and consulates in Mauritania
8 diplomatic missions from 8 countries, across 1 cities.
| Nationality | Missions | Cities |
|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 1 | Nouakchott |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 1 | Nouakchott |
| 🇨🇳 China | 1 | Nouakchott |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 1 | Nouakchott |
| 🇩🇿 Algeria | 1 | Nouakchott |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | 1 | Nouakchott |
| 🇫🇷 France | 1 | Nouakchott |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 1 | Nouakchott |
The full directory — addresses, phone numbers and locations on the map — is available in the Telcomia app.
Local language
The main local language in Mauritania is Arabic. The Telcomia app includes 16 emergency phrases in Arabic, with audio, ready to play when you need them.
See the 16 emergency phrases in ArabicTraveling to Mauritania?
Stay connected from the moment you land: prepaid eSIM data plans for Mauritania, delivered instantly, with the Telcomia safety layer included.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mauritania safe to visit right now?
The Telcomia Safety Index for Mauritania is 2.5/4 (High risk, level 3 of 4) as of Nov 14, 2026. It is a composite of official advisories from Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, recalculated daily.
What is the emergency number in Mauritania?
The general emergency number in Mauritania is 117. Save it before you travel — with a Telcomia eSIM you can call for help without hunting for Wi-Fi.
How many embassies are there in Mauritania?
Telcomia tracks 8 diplomatic missions from 8 countries in Mauritania, across 1 cities. The full directory with addresses and phone numbers is in the Telcomia app.
Informational only
This page is general information, not a substitute for official government travel advice. Conditions can change quickly — always check your own government's latest advisory before and during your trip.
Advisory levels summarize official sources: Spain's MAEC, the UK FCDO (contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0) and the U.S. Department of State (public domain). Follow the links above for the full official text.