History of Nouakchott

position. In 1957, this small port town was chosen to be the capital of the new country, and an ambitious building program was begun to increase its population to 15,000, starting a year later. In 1958, Mauritania was formed as an autonomous republic in the French Community, and in 1960 it became an independent country, with Nouakchott as its capital.

Since independence

The city was attacked in 1976 by the Polisario Front, as part of the Western Sahara independence movement. Between 1988 and 1989, racial tensions between Arabs and blacks escalated. There was discrimination and retaliation by Arabs and blacks. There were also three days of "bread riots" starting January 21, 1995.

The city has had rapid growth, driven by the north African drought since the beginning of the 1970s: many have moved to the city in search of a better life. The population is estimated to have been just under 1,000,000 in 2000, and to have grown to above 2,000,000 as of 2008.

There is currently a large amount of Chinese investment in Mauritania that is focused on the city