Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 9.5 years longer

In Somalia, the average life expectancy is 56 years (53 years for men, 58 years for women) as of 2022. In Mauritania, that number is 65 years (63 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2022.

be 53.0% more likely to be obese

In Somalia, 8.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mauritania, that number is 12.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 4.2 times more money

Somalia has a GDP per capita of $1,500 as of 2023, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $6,300 as of 2023.

be 44.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Somalia, 19.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 10.5% as of 2023.

be 41.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Somalia, 54.4% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Mauritania, however, that number is 31.8% as of 2019.

Life

be 25.1% less likely to die during childbirth

In Somalia, approximately 621.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Mauritania, 465.0 women do as of 2020.

be 41.1% less likely to die during infancy

In Somalia, approximately 86.5 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.

have 27.3% fewer children

In Somalia, there are approximately 37.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 27.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 4.1 times more likely to have internet access

In Somalia, approximately 14.5% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Mauritania, about 59.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 6.3 times more on education

Somalia spends 0.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Mauritania spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 75.1% less coastline

Somalia has a total of 3,025 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.

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 Somalia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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