Age & Gender Distribution
Mauritania — population share by age and gender (%)
- Male
- Female
Mauritania — Health, Education & Rights Data
Latest available figures from UN agencies. The year of each figure is shown, since surveys are not run every year.
Population
- Population doubling time At the current growth rate
- 25 yrs
- Annual population growth
- 2.8%2025
- Total fertility rateBirths per woman
- 4.632024
- Life expectancy at birth
- 68.7 yrs2024
- Life expectancy, female
- 70.7 yrs2024
- Life expectancy, male
- 66.7 yrs2024
- Birth ratePer 1,000 people
- 34.02024
- Death ratePer 1,000 people
- 5.42024
- Infant mortalityPer 1,000 live births
- 30.22024
- Urban population
- 61.5%2025
Source: UN Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024
Sexual & Reproductive Health
- Maternal mortality ratioDeaths per 100,000 live births
- 3812023
- Births attended by skilled health personnel
- 70.4%2021
- Adolescent birth rateBirths per 1,000 girls aged 15–19
- 87.62024
- Universal health coverage service index
- 40 / 1002023
- New HIV infections, all agesPer 1,000 uninfected people
- 0.102024
Source: UN MMEIG (WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank), UNICEF/WHO, WHO, UNAIDS
Family Planning
- Contraceptive prevalence, any method
- 14.3%2021
- Contraceptive prevalence, modern methods
- 12.8%2021
- Unmet need for family planning
- 31.1%2021
Source: UN Population Division (women aged 15–49)
Education
- Net enrolment rate, primary
- 79.6%2018
- Net enrolment rate, secondary
- 31.0%2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Gender, Rights & Human Capital
- Women making their own decisions on sexual & reproductive health
- 25.3%2021
Source: UNFPA, WHO / UN Women / UNICEF (violence estimates)
Harmful Practices
- Child marriage by age 18Women aged 20–24
- 36.6%2021
- Female genital mutilation prevalence
- 63.9%2021
Source: UNICEF
Understanding Mauritania's Population
Mauritania is the 104th most populous country in the world, with an estimated population of 4,900,000 people as of today. This figure is an estimate — it starts from the most recent official count and advances second by second using Mauritania's annual growth rate of 2.78%.
The population is rapidly growing. At the current rate, Mauritania adds or loses roughly 373 people per day. With a land area of 1,000,000 km², it is sparsely populated (5 people per km²).
The "Births Today" and "Deaths Today" figures are estimates based on annualized rates prorated to the time elapsed since midnight. The age and gender distribution reflects the most recent demographic profile available. For how these figures are computed, see our Methodology page.