If you lived in Mauritania instead of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, you would:

Health

live 15.3 years less

In Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, the average life expectancy is 80 years (78 years for men, 84 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 24.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, 14.0% of adults are unemployed as of 1998. In Mauritania, that number is 10.5% as of 2023.

Life

have 2.9 times more children

In Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, there are approximately 9.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 27.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 2.7 times more likely to die during infancy

In Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, approximately 19.2 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 56.9% more likely to have internet access

In Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, approximately 37.6% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Mauritania, about 59.0% do as of 2021.

be 51.0% less likely to have access to electricity

In Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Mauritania, 49% of the population do as of 2022.

be 14.0% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha, approximately 99% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In Mauritania, 85% of people do as of 2020.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

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 Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha? See an in-depth size comparison.

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