Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Mauritania instead of Iceland, you would:

Health

be 42.0% less likely to be obese

In Iceland, 21.9% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mauritania, that number is 12.7% of people as of 2016.

live 18.4 years less

In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Mauritania, that number is 65 years (63 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

pay a 13.6% lower top tax rate

Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In Mauritania, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.

make 90.5% less money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $55,600 as of 2022, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $5,300 as of 2022.

be 2.8 times more likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Mauritania, that number is 10.8% as of 2022.

be 3.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Mauritania, however, that number is 31.8% as of 2019.

Life

have 2.2 times more children

In Iceland, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 27.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 155.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Iceland, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Mauritania, 465.0 women do as of 2020.

be 30.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Iceland, approximately 1.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Mauritania, on the other hand, 51.0 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 52.4% less likely to have access to electricity

In Iceland, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Mauritania, 48% of the population do as of 2021.

be 41.0% less likely to have internet access

In Iceland, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Mauritania, about 59.0% do as of 2021.

be 14.8% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Iceland, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Mauritania, that number is 85% of people on average (99% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 75.3% less on education

Iceland spends 7.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Mauritania spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 64.6% less on healthcare

Iceland spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Mauritania, that number is 3.4% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 84.8% less coastline

Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Directorate of Internal Revenue.

Mauritania: At a glance

Mauritania is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 1,030,700 sq km. Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976 but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for more than two decades. A series of presidential elections that he held were widely seen as flawed. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ deposed him and installed a military council government. AZIZ was subsequently elected president in July 2009 and sworn in the following month. AZIZ sustained injuries from an accidental shooting by his own troops in October 2012 but has continued to maintain his authority. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among its black population (Afro-Mauritanians) and white and black Moor (Arab-Berber) communities, and confronts a terrorism threat by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
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How big is Mauritania compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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