Mauritania Environment - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought are contributing to desertification; limited natural freshwater resources away from the Senegal, which is the only perennial river; locust infestation

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 40.82 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 2.74 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 6.16 megatons (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 95.4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 31.8 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 1.223 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

11.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Climate

desert; constantly hot, dry, dusty

Land use

agricultural land: 38.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 38.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 0.2% (2018 est.)

other: 61.3% (2018 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 1.3% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 56.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity: due to poor performance of pastoral cropping season - according to the latest analysis, about 484,000 people are assessed to need humanitarian assistance in the June−August 2021 period as a result of fodder production deficits in Trarza, Brakna, Gorgol, Guidimaka and Assaba districts (2021)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 454,000 tons (2009 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 36,320 tons (2009 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 8% (2009 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Mauritania on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mauritania 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mauritania 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.