Mauritania profile

Demography and Health

Mauritania has a young and dynamic population, underscored by a very high crude birth rate of 34.4 births per 1,000 people in 2023, which helps explain its total population of about 5.17 million in 2024. The country’s life expectancy at birth stands at 68.5 years (2023), signaling ongoing health and development challenges relative to higher-income peers. Child health remains a particular concern, with an under-5 mortality rate of 37.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. The crude death rate is 5.52 per 1,000 people, contributing to population churn as the country navigates the health needs of a growing cohort. The combination of a young demographic and elevated maternal and child health risks places substantial demand on the health system, which already allocates 4.48% of GDP to current health expenditure (2022), and about 108 international-dollar per capita in government health expenditure (PPP, 2022). The physician density is low, with 0.236 physicians per 1,000 people (2022), suggesting limited access to medical professionals and essential services, particularly in rural areas. Economic and social pressures from a youthful population can intensify the need for education, jobs, and social services, while migration dynamics show a small net outflow (net migration of -2,185 in 2024), hinting at a potential brain drain or labor mobility in search of better opportunities. Digital connectivity is developing but still uneven, with 37.4% of the population using the Internet in 2023, underscoring a digital divide that can influence education, commerce, and health information access. Overall, Mauritania’s demography presents both a potential dividend—if jobs, education, and health services scale up—and a challenge in translating a large cohort into a robust, sustainable, and healthier future.

Economy, Trade and Investment

Economically, Mauritania remains low-income by current standards, with GDP per capita at about 2,083 US dollars in 2024, and a higher yet still modest GDP per capita on a purchasing power parity basis of 7,271 international dollars. This juxtaposition reflects a structure dominated by commodity exports and a reliance on imports for many goods and services. The country’s exports of goods and services accounted for 38.3% of GDP in 2023, while imports comprised 53.2% of GDP, indicating a trade profile with a substantial import bill relative to domestic output and a need for external financing to sustain the current account. The current account balance registered a deficit of 9.07% of GDP in 2023, signaling vulnerabilities to external shocks and currency pressures, even as the country benefits from foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows totaling 7.96% of GDP in 2023, a relatively high figure that reflects the role of natural resource extraction (notably minerals) and related activities in the investment climate. Mauritania also posts a notable, albeit modest, share of high-technology exports (3.64 million US dollars in 2023), indicating limited but growing integration into higher-value segments of global trade. Inflation is contained at 2.49% in 2024, which supports macroeconomic stability for households and investors alike. The country also exhibits a niche in renewable energy consumption, which reached 19.6% of total final energy consumption in 2022, suggesting opportunities for cheaper energy inputs as well as resilience in energy supply. Dependency on imports remains significant, and logistics capacity—gauged by a Logistics Performance Index score of 2.0 in 2022—points to constraints in trade and transport infrastructure that can raise transaction costs and affect competitiveness. Net outflows of people (net negative migration) and a relatively low per-capita income spectrum emphasize the need for broad-based growth, skill development, and diversification to reduce vulnerability to commodity price cycles and external demand shifts.

Governance and Institutions

Mauritania’s governance indicators reveal a challenging institutional environment. In 2023, Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism registered at -0.503, with a rank around 144, signaling persistent risk and fragility. Regulatory Quality sits at -0.997 (rank ~169), while the Rule of Law stands at -0.639 (rank ~144). Control of Corruption is -0.823 (rank ~150), and Government Effectiveness is -0.764 (rank ~148). Taken together, these negative scores suggest systemic governance weaknesses, including constraints on policy implementation, judicial integrity, and public sector performance. Such characteristics can impede reform, undermine investor confidence, and complicate the delivery of public services. While not provided here, these indicators often correlate with constraints in the business environment, transitional politics, and the ability to mobilize resources for large-scale infrastructure, health, or education projects. Policy reform, stronger rule of law, transparency, and predictable regulatory regimes would likely yield dividends for governance quality, attract more stable investment, and improve service delivery over time. The broader governance milieu, coupled with a relatively low Logistics Performance Index, hints that administrative bottlenecks and infrastructure gaps may persist as Mauritania seeks to translate natural-resource wealth into broad-based development outcomes.

Infrastructure and Technology

Infrastructure and technology outcomes in Mauritania reflect a mix of opportunities and constraints. Internet usage stands at 37.4% of the population (2023), indicating substantial digital divides and room for expansion of connectivity, digital literacy, and e-services. The country’s human-capital indicators—such as a low physician density of 0.236 per 1,000 people (2022)—highlight deficits in health workforce capacity that can constrain both health outcomes and the delivery of digital health solutions. The Logistics Performance Index scores Mauritania at 2.0 (2022) on a 1-to-5 scale, signaling moderate limitations in trade- and transport-related infrastructure. This can elevate logistics costs, hinder efficient export supply chains, and impede domestic market integration. The economy’s energy and technology footprint is tempered by high-technology exports totaling about 3.6 million US dollars in 2023, a modest but meaningful indicator of niche technological activities. The import intensity (imports at 53.2% of GDP) coupled with a 38.3% export share of GDP underscores continued dependence on external inputs and external markets, which makes reliable transport, port facilities, and customs efficiency critical. Renewable energy consumption accounts for 19.6% of total final energy consumption (2022), illustrating a growing but still evolving transition toward diverse energy sources that could support industrial development and reduce exposure to fossil energy price volatility. Overall, Mauritania’s technology and infrastructure profile shows a country with potential for digital expansion, energy diversification, and improved trade logistics, provided governance and investment climate constraints are gradually addressed.

Environment and Sustainability

From an environmental and sustainability perspective, Mauritania exhibits a blend of vulnerability and resilience. Total greenhouse gas emissions per capita (excluding LULUCF) are 3.29 t CO2e per person in 2023, a moderate level that aligns with its developing-economy status. The Level of water stress—freshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources—was 13.2% in 2021, indicating relatively low water scarcity pressures compared with arid regions, though rising demand and climate variability could alter this balance over time. The prevalence of undernourishment is 9.3% of the population as of 2022, signaling ongoing food security challenges that intersect with climate risk, land use, and agricultural productivity. Mauritania’s renewable energy share (19.6% of final energy consumption in 2022) points to a meaningful but still nascent shift toward cleaner energy sources that could support climate resilience, reduce import dependence, and create opportunities for green growth. The combination of a young population, moderate environmental stress, and ongoing development needs suggests that climate adaptation, sustainable resource management, and investment in resilient infrastructure will be crucial to long-term sustainability. Net migration patterns indicate that population pressures and economic pull factors may drive continued migration decisions, reinforcing the need for sustainable livelihoods and climate-resilient development pathways at the national level.