ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Mauritania

Sub-Saharan Africa. Lower middle income. Capital: Nouakchott. Population 5,315,065 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
4,842 5,683 6,524 1995 2025 6,559
GDP growth (%)
−3.6 7.1 17.9 1995 2025 4.0
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
1.7 6.8 11.9 1995 2025 1.5
Life expectancy at birth (years)
59.1 63.8 68.5 1995 2024 68.7

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 6,559 2025 +596 +590 152 of 199
GDP growth% 4.0% 2025 +4.4 pp −1.3 pp 76 of 209
GDP per person growth% 1.2% 2025 +4.4 pp −1.1 pp 138 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 2,210 2025 +490 +530 161 of 201
Trade% of GDP 94.0% 2025 +7.2 pp +16.7 pp 71 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 5.4% 2025 −5.8 pp −2.7 pp 39 of 195

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 1.5% 2025 −0.8 pp −1.7 pp 130 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 10.3% 2025 −0.7 pp +0.2 pp 38 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 5,315,065 2025 +714,934 +1,349,106 125 of 217
Population growth% annual 2.8% 2025 −0.1 pp −0.2 pp 18 of 217
Urban population% of total 61.5% 2025 +4.5 pp +9.8 pp 123 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 68.7 2024 +1.1 +2.5 164 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 30.2 2024 −4.7 −9.1 47 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 4.3% 2023 +1.5 pp +1.5 pp 146 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 59.5% 2020 * −5.6 pp – –
Government spending on education% of GDP 7.6% 2024 +5.8 pp +5.1 pp 9 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 45.8% 2024 +20.7 pp +34.0 pp 153 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 52.2% 2024 +7.3 pp +13.4 pp 200 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 32.0 2019 * −0.6 −3.7 –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 10.2% 2019 * −1.5 pp −9.0 pp –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 19.6% 2022 −5.9 pp −12.3 pp 108 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 6,081 +2.4 6,095 3,781 196 +1.0% 13% 13%
GDP growth 4.1% 0.0 4.3% 4.6% 2.7 – – –
GDP per person growth 1.1% 0.0 2.7% 2.5% 2.6 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 1,798 +1.9 2,750 1,355 215 +2.8% 6% 6%
Trade 87.5% +0.7 69.0% 59.9% 8.8 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 7.9% −0.3 1.9% 2.0% 7.3 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 3.5% −0.9 3.6% 3.5% 2.3 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 10.5% −0.5 5.1% 5.4% 0.3 – – –
Population 4,547,109 +1.9 12,348,573 14,957,094 404,465 +3.0% 181% 151%
Population growth 3.0% −3.9 1.7% 2.3% 0.0 – – –
Urban population 56.4% +1.7 50.9% 44.9% 2.9 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 67.2 +2.0 67.9 64.3 0.7 – – –
Infant mortality 35.3 −1.8 28.7 37.2 2.8 – – –
Health spending 3.4% +1.7 4.5% 4.4% 0.5 – – –
Government spending on education 2.4% +5.0 4.0% 3.3% 1.1 – – –
Internet users 27.1% +1.7 57.9% 36.8% 11.0 – – –
Access to electricity 44.3% +2.0 88.7% 57.8% 3.9 – – –
Renewable energy 26.9% −1.4 42.5% 70.6% 5.3 – – –

Compare Mauritania with other countries