At a glance
- Nouakchott, the capital: 77°, east-north-east, 5,822 km from the Kaaba.
- The Qibla turns by 6° across the country, from 75° in Kaédi to 81° in Zouérat.
- Closest to Makkah: Mbera, 4,830 km. Farthest: Nouadhibou, 5,862 km.
- Around Nouakchott, a magnetic compass points about 5° west of true north (World Magnetic Model 2025, for 2026). On a needle compass, the Qibla there is about 81°.
Qibla from every city in Mauritania
Cities of 50,000 people or more, largest first.
| City | Qibla | Direction | Distance to the Kaaba (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nouakchott | 77° | east-north-east | 5,822 |
| Nouadhibou | 78° | east-north-east | 5,862 |
| Kiffa | 76° | east-north-east | 5,389 |
| Dar Naim | 77° | east-north-east | 5,816 |
| Néma | 76° | east-north-east | 4,961 |
| Mbera | 75° | east-north-east | 4,830 |
| Ksar | 77° | east-north-east | 5,819 |
| Kaédi | 75° | east-north-east | 5,619 |
| Zouérat | 81° | east | 5,362 |
Not on the list? Search any town or use your location on the live compass.
Reading these numbers
Each bearing is measured clockwise from true north along the shortest path over the globe, a great circle, which is how the Qibla is worked out. A flat map can mislead, because the Earth is round.
Phone compasses work best after calibrating with a figure-8, away from metal and magnetic cases. Our guide to finding the Qibla also covers the sun, the local mosque and praying when unsure.
Qibla in other countries
Algeria Angola Congo - Kinshasa Egypt Ethiopia Kenya Morocco Nigeria South Africa Sudan Tanzania Uganda
City data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Magnetic declination: the World Magnetic Model 2025 (NOAA and the British Geological Survey).