Mauritania - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Mauritania. Mauritania is considered part of both North Africa's Maghreb region and West Africa's Sahel region; most of the population is concentrated in the cities of Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and along the Senegal River in the southern part of the country. Mother's mean age at first birth is N/A , whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is N/A.

Population Distribution

Vast areas of the country, particularly in the central, northern, and eastern areas, are desert and lack 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 population distribution map

People and Society

In Mauritania, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: 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%

Population N/A
Pop growth rate 2.88% (2025 est.)
Birth rate 34.01 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate 5.18 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Current health expenditure N/A
Physicians Density N/A
Hospital bed Density N/A
Total fertility rate 4.76 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 2.34 (2025 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate N/A
Est married women (ages 15-49) N/A
Literacy N/A
Education expenditures N/A
Net Migration rate N/A
Nationality Mauritanian | Mauritanian(s)
Languages N/A
Religions N/A
Age Structure
0-14 years 35.7% (male 776,035/female 770,132)
15-64 years 59.9% (male 1,227,347/female 1,363,938)
65 years and over 4.4% (2024 est.) (male 80,308/female 110,280)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 84.7 (2025 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 77.8 (2025 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 7 (2025 est.)
Potential support ratio 14.3 (2025 est.)
Median Age
Total 18.6 years (2025 est.)
Male 21.1 years
Female 23.1 years
Urbanization
Urban population 57.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 3.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 1.492 million NOUAKCHOTT (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
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 (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 29.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
Male 54.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 42.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 65.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 63.4 years
Female 68.5 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 94.6% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 55.6% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 77.8% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 5.4% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 44.4% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 22.2% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 89.4% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 33.9% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 65.5% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 10.6% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 66.1% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 34.5% of population (2022 est.)
Major Infectious diseases
Alcohol consumption per capita
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.)
Tobacco use
Total 8.3% (2025 est.)
Male 15.5% (2025 est.)
Female 1.7% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 15.5% (2021)
Women married by age 18 36.6% (2021)
Men married by age 18 1.2% (2021)
Demographic profile
No additional profile data available.
All Important Facts about Mauritania

Want to know more about Mauritania? Check all different factbooks for Mauritania below.

Mauritania is found in Western Africa