Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Mauritania: key statistics
Mauritania has 5.3m people (2025) and a GDP per person of $2,198. Below: 77 indicators with the latest year, world rank and change over ten years.
- Capital
- Nouakchott
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Income group
- Lower-middle income
- Currency
- Mauritanian ouguiya MRU
- Languages
- French, Arabic
- ISO codes
- MRMRT
Population5.3m2025 · rank 125 of 217GDP$11.7bn2025 · rank 154 of 211GDP per capita$2,1982025 · rank 174 of 211Life expectancy68.7 yrs2024 · rank 164 of 217Internet users45.8%2024 · rank 153 of 188Fertility4.622024 · rank 11 of 217CO₂ per person0.97 t2024 · rank 141 of 203Inflation1.5%2025 · rank 130 of 180
topic profiles
Mauritania, topic by topic
Each profile brings together the indicators of one topic with world and regional rank, values since 2000, group averages and a comparison with neighbours.
Population
Mauritania
GDP per capita
MauritaniaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Life expectancy
MauritaniaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Internet users
MauritaniaSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
all indicators
Mauritania by topic
World rank counts countries with a value in the recent window; regional rank is within Sub-Saharan Africa.
PopulationFull population profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.3m | 2025 | 125/217 | 34/48 | +34% | 8.2bn | |
| Population growth | 2.78% | 2025 | 18/217 | 10/48 | −0.2 pp | 0.91% | |
| Urban share | 61.5% | 2025 | 123/217 | 11/48 | +9.8 pp | 57.8% | |
| Fertility | 4.62 | 2024 | 11/217 | 10/48 | −12% | 2.19 | |
| Aged 65+ | 3.2% | 2025 | 186/217 | 25/48 | −0.3 pp | 10.4% | |
| Aged 0–14 | 42.4% | 2025 | 12/217 | 11/48 | −1.9 pp | 24.4% | |
| Density | 5.0 | 2024 | 206/216 | 46/48 | +34% | 62.1 | |
| Birth rate | 34.0 | 2024 | 13/217 | 11/48 | −11% | 16.3 | |
| Area | 1,030,700 km² | 2024 | 28/216 | 9/48 | ±0.0% | 140,539,257 km² |
EconomyFull economy profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $11.7bn | 2025 | 154/211 | 34/46 | +89% | $118tn | |
| GDP per capita | $2,198 | 2025 | 174/211 | 17/46 | +41% | $14,406 | |
| GDP per capita, PPP | $7,676 | 2025 | 152/199 | 14/46 | +93% | $25,704 | |
| GNI per capita | $2,210 | 2025 | 161/201 | 16/46 | +32% | $14,244 | |
| GDP growth | 4.0% | 2025 | 77/210 | 27/46 | −1.3 pp | 2.9% | |
| GDP per capita growth | 1.2% | 2025 | 139/210 | 29/46 | −1.1 pp | 2.0% | |
| Agriculture share | 20.0% | 2025 | 37/198 | 26/45 | −0.7 pp | 4.0% | |
| Industry share | 29.7% | 2025 | 54/201 | 11/45 | +7.0 pp | 25.0% | |
| Services share | 42.4% | 2025 | 177/201 | 29/45 | −4.1 pp | 63.3% | |
| Investment | 44.3% | 2025 | 2/175 | 1/43 | +5.9 pp | 26.3% | |
| Savings | 34.4% | 2024 | 24/163 | 3/39 | +11.6 pp | 26.0% |
Prices & public financeFull prices & public finance profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation | 1.5% | 2025 | 130/180 | 34/44 | −1.7 pp | 3.0% | |
| Real interest rate | 15.2% | 2017 | 10/136 | 4/36 | +1.8 pp | — | |
| Lending rate | 17.0% | 2017 | 23/136 | 12/36 | −6.5 pp | — | |
| Exchange rate | 36.49 | 2023 | 86/210 | 35/47 | +21% | — | |
| External debt | 41.8% | 2024 | 64/119 | 24/43 | −29.7 pp | — | |
| Military spending | 2.75% | 2025 | 37/156 | 8/45 | +0.6 pp | 2.48% |
Trade & investmentFull trade & investment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 39.9% | 2025 | 84/184 | 13/43 | +9.7 pp | 29.5% | |
| Imports | 54.2% | 2025 | 65/184 | 8/43 | +7.0 pp | 28.5% | |
| Trade openness | 94.0% | 2025 | 72/184 | 10/43 | +16.7 pp | 68.5% | |
| Current account | -9.6% | 2024 | 159/185 | 35/42 | +12.7 pp | — | |
| FDI inflows | 5.4% | 2025 | 39/197 | 10/46 | −2.7 pp | 1.4% | |
| Remittances | 0.9% | 2024 | 123/178 | 33/41 | +0.8 pp | 0.8% | |
| Tourist arrivals | 30,000 | 2000 | — | — | — | 2.4bn |
LabourFull labour profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment | 10.3% | 2025 | 38/187 | 13/47 | +0.2 pp | 4.8% | |
| Youth unemployment | 22.9% | 2025 | 37/187 | 11/47 | +4.4 pp | 13.4% | |
| Participation rate | 40.8% | 2025 | 177/187 | 44/47 | −1.3 pp | 61.0% | |
| Women's participation | 26.2% | 2025 | 170/187 | 44/47 | −0.5 pp | 48.9% |
Aid, poverty & equalityFull aid, poverty & equality profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net ODA received | $419m | 2023 | 73/145 | 32/48 | +42% | $259bn | |
| ODA, % of GNI | 3.9% | 2023 | 52/139 | 29/47 | −0.3 pp | 0.2% | |
| ODA per person | $83.5 | 2023 | 57/145 | 17/48 | +5.8% | $32.2 | |
| Extreme poverty | 10.2% | 2019 | 45/151 | 39/44 | −9.0 pp | 10.1% | |
| Poverty, $4.20/day | 26.0% | 2019 | 44/151 | 39/44 | −10.8 pp | 18.2% | |
| National poverty rate | 31.8% | 2019 | 46/145 | 36/45 | — | — | |
| Gini index | 32.0 | 2019 | 105/151 | 41/44 | −10% | — | |
| Undernourishment | 11.0% | 2024 | 52/167 | 35/44 | +4.4 pp | 8.1% | |
| Women in parliament | 23.3% | 2025 | 109/190 | 24/46 | −1.9 pp | 27.2% |
EducationFull education profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 59.5% | 2020 | 126/141 | 28/41 | +8.3 pp | 87.7% | |
| Female literacy | 51.8% | 2020 | 130/147 | 26/41 | +8.4 pp | 84.6% | |
| Primary enrolment | 105.4% | 2024 | 49/191 | 15/41 | +11.5 pp | 102.2% | |
| Secondary enrolment | 36.0% | 2020 | 169/176 | 27/34 | +15.6 pp | 77.3% | |
| Tertiary enrolment | 6.0% | 2020 | 164/172 | 28/34 | +1.3 pp | 43.6% | |
| Primary completion | 73.4% | 2020 | 143/168 | 17/36 | +5.8 pp | 88.0% | |
| Pupils per teacher | 34.3 | 2018 | 30/173 | 24/40 | −7.9% | 23.4 | |
| Education spending | 7.6% | 2024 | 11/184 | 3/43 | +5.1 pp | 3.6% |
HealthFull health profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 68.7 yrs | 2024 | 164/217 | 8/48 | +3.8% | 73.5 yrs | |
| Infant mortality | 30.2 | 2024 | 47/196 | 36/48 | −23% | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortality | 36.9 | 2024 | 48/196 | 38/48 | −27% | 37.4 | |
| Maternal mortality | 381 | 2023 | 15/194 | 14/48 | −23% | 197 | |
| Health spending | 4.3% | 2023 | 146/193 | 26/48 | +1.5 pp | 10.1% | |
| Health spending per person | $92.1 | 2023 | 146/193 | 14/48 | +66% | $1,317 | |
| Physicians | 0.26 | 2022 | 143/180 | 15/46 | +62% | 1.86 | |
| Measles vaccination | 93% | 2024 | 80/193 | 7/48 | +18.0 pp | 84% | |
| HIV prevalence | 0.1% | 2024 | 129/153 | 43/44 | −0.2 pp | 0.7% | |
| Child stunting | 25.1% | 2022 | 44/154 | 29/46 | +1.9 pp | — | |
| Basic water | 77.3% | 2024 | 174/206 | 18/46 | +14.9 pp | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitation | 58.7% | 2024 | 161/203 | 10/46 | +18.8 pp | 82.2% |
Digital & energy accessFull digital & energy access profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 45.8% | 2024 | 153/188 | 17/46 | +34.0 pp | 73.6% | |
| Mobile subscriptions | 92.1 | 2024 | 156/210 | 26/48 | −5.6% | 111.5 | |
| Fixed broadband | 0.9 | 2024 | 170/208 | 17/48 | +355% | 20.1 | |
| Electricity access | 52.2% | 2024 | 200/215 | 34/48 | +13.4 pp | 91.9% | |
| Clean cooking | 56.0% | 2024 | 136/192 | 10/48 | +12.0 pp | 75.4% |
EnvironmentFull environment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ per person | 0.97 t | 2024 | 141/203 | 10/47 | +39% | 4.69 t | |
| Renewable energy | 19.6% | 2022 | 108/212 | 44/48 | −12.3 pp | 19.7% | |
| Renewable power | 19.4% | 2021 | 116/206 | 31/48 | +19.4 pp | 27.8% | |
| Forest cover | 1.0% | 2024 | 198/214 | 47/48 | ±0.0 pp | 31.1% | |
| Arable land | 0.4% | 2024 | 198/206 | 47/48 | ±0.0 pp | 10.7% | |
| Water withdrawals | 337.1% | 2022 | 9/177 | 2/47 | ±0.0 pp | 9.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
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