4,244,878 (2023 est.)
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian
Black Moors (Haratines - Arabic-speaking descendants of African origin who are or were enslaved by White Moors) 40%, White Moors (of Arab-Amazigh descent, known as Beydane) 30%, Sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Halpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara ethnic groups) 30%
Arabic (official and national), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French; note - the spoken Arabic in Mauritania differs considerably from the Modern Standard Arabic used for official written purposes or in the media; the Mauritanian dialect, which incorporates many Tamazight words, is referred to as Hassaniya
major-language sample(s):
كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Arabic audio sample:
Muslim (official) 100%
With a sustained total fertility rate of about 3.5 children per woman and almost 60% of the population under the age of 25 as of 2020, Mauritania's population is likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future. Mauritania's large youth cohort is vital to its development prospects, but available schooling does not adequately prepare students for the workplace. Girls continue to be underrepresented in the classroom, educational quality remains poor, and the dropout rate is high. The literacy rate is only about 50%, even though access to primary education has improved since the mid-2000s. Women's restricted access to education and discriminatory laws maintain gender inequality - worsened by early and forced marriages and female genital cutting.
The denial of education to black Moors also helps to perpetuate slavery. Although Mauritania abolished slavery in 1981 (the last country in the world to do so) and made it a criminal offense in 2007, the millenniums-old practice persists largely because anti-slavery laws are rarely enforced and the custom is so ingrained. According to a 2018 nongovernmental organization's report, a little more than 2% of Mauritania's population is enslaved, which includes individuals subjected to forced labor and forced marriage, while many thousands of individuals who are legally free contend with discrimination, poor education, and a lack of identity papers and, therefore, live in de facto slavery. The UN and international press outlets have claimed that up to 20% of Mauritania's population is enslaved, which would be the highest rate worldwide.
Drought, poverty, and unemployment have driven outmigration from Mauritania since the 1970s. Early flows were directed toward other West African countries, including Senegal, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire, and Gambia. The 1989 Mauritania-Senegal conflict forced thousands of black Mauritanians to take refuge in Senegal and pushed labor migrants toward the Gulf, Libya, and Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Mauritania has accepted migrants from neighboring countries to fill labor shortages since its independence in 1960 and more recently has received refugees escaping civil wars, including tens of thousands of Tuaregs who fled Mali in 2012.
Mauritania was an important transit point for Sub-Saharan migrants moving illegally to North Africa and Europe. In the mid-2000s, as border patrols increased in the Strait of Gibraltar, security increased around Spain's North African enclaves (Ceuta and Melilla), and Moroccan border controls intensified, illegal migration flows shifted from the Western Mediterranean to Spain's Canary Islands. In 2006, departure points moved southward along the West African coast from Morocco and then Western Sahara to Mauritania's two key ports (Nouadhibou and the capital Nouakchott), and illegal migration to the Canaries peaked at almost 32,000. The numbers fell dramatically in the following years because of joint patrolling off the West African coast by Frontex (the EU's border protection agency), Spain, Mauritania, and Senegal; the expansion of Spain's border surveillance system; and the 2008 European economic downturn.
0-14 years: 36.11% (male 769,229/female 763,465)
15-64 years: 59.58% (male 1,197,311/female 1,331,815)
65 years and over: 4.31% (2023 est.) (male 77,123/female 105,935)
2023 population pyramid: 
total dependency ratio: 82.7
youth dependency ratio: 76.8
elderly dependency ratio: 6
potential support ratio: 16.8 (2021 est.)
total: 21.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 20.9 years
female: 22.8 years
1.96% (2023 est.)
27.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
with most of the country being a desert, vast areas of the country, particularly in the central, northern, and eastern areas, are without sizeable population clusters; half the population lives in or around the coastal capital of Nouakchott; smaller clusters are found near the southern border with Mali and Senegal as shown in this 
urban population: 57.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 3.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1.492 million NOUAKCHOTT (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
21.8 years (2019/21)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
465 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 50 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 55.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 43.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 65.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 63.1 years
female: 68.1 years
3.46 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.71 (2023 est.)
11.5% (2019/20)
improved: urban: 98.7% of population
rural: 68.4% of population
total: 85.2% of population
unimproved: urban: 1.3% of population
rural: 31.6% of population
total: 14.8% of population (2020 est.)
3.4% of GDP (2020)
0.19 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 83.5% of population
rural: 25.2% of population
total: 57.5% of population
unimproved: urban: 16.5% of population
rural: 74.8% of population
total: 42.5% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and sexually transmitted diseases: hepatitis B (2024)
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
12.7% (2016)
total: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 10.7% (2020 est.)
male: 19.3% (2020 est.)
female: 2.1% (2020 est.)
22.4% (2022)
66% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 15.5%
women married by age 18: 36.6%
men married by age 18: 1.2% (2021 est.)
1.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67%
male: 71.8%
female: 62.2% (2021)
total: 9 years
male: 8 years
female: 9 years (2020)
NOTE: The information regarding Mauritania on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mauritania 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mauritania 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.
