Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 60.9% less likely to be obese

In Libya, 32.5% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mauritania, that number is 12.7% of people as of 2016.

live 12.0 years less

In Libya, the average life expectancy is 77 years (75 years for men, 80 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

be 43.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Libya, 18.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 10.5% as of 2023.

make 64.4% less money

Libya has a GDP per capita of $17,700 as of 2023, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $6,300 as of 2023.

pay a 4.0 times higher top tax rate

Libya has a top tax rate of 10.0% as of 2016. In Mauritania, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 34.0% more children

In Libya, there are approximately 20.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 27.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 6.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Libya, approximately 72.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Mauritania, 465.0 women do as of 2020.

be 26.4% less likely to be literate

In Libya, the literacy rate is 91.0% as of 2015. In Mauritania, it is 67.0% as of 2021.

be 4.5 times more likely to die during infancy

In Libya, approximately 11.2 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 27.7% more likely to have internet access

In Libya, approximately 46.2% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Mauritania, about 59.0% do as of 2021.

be 30.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In Libya, approximately 70% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 96% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Mauritania, that number is 49% of people on average (90% in urban areas, and 1% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 14.7% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Libya, approximately 100% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In Mauritania, 85% of people do as of 2020.

Geography

see 57.4% less coastline

Libya has a total of 1,770 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.

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 Libya? See an in-depth size comparison.

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