# Mauritania — national dossier

Mauritania — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 43 indicators, each…

Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/MRT
Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year)

## Overview

- Official name: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
- Capital: Nouakchott
- Region: Western Africa, Africa
- Population: 3.8 m
- Area: 1,030,700 km²
- Languages: Arabic
- Currency: Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU)

A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Economy

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $12 B | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita | $2,198 | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP growth | 4.0% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Inflation | 1.5% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Trade openness | 94.0% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |

## Society

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.3 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Life expectancy | 68.7 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Urban population | 61.5% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Fertility rate | 4.6 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Literacy rate | 59.5% | 2020 | World Development Indicators |

## Governance

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 40.7 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Political stability | 56.3 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Government effectiveness | 36.9 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Regulatory quality | 42.6 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Rule of law | 42.1 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Control of corruption | 29.0 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |

## Health

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 4.3% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Physicians | 0.26 | 2022 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Under-5 mortality | 36.9 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Measles immunisation | 93.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |

## Education

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 59.5% | 2020 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Education spending | 7.6% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Primary enrolment | 105.4% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Secondary enrolment | 36.0% | 2020 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Tertiary enrolment | 6.0% | 2020 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |

## Technology

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.0% | 2018 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Internet users | 45.8% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| Mobile subscriptions | 92 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| High-tech exports | 9.4% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |

## Geography

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 1,030,700 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest area | 0.3% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural land | 38.5% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 1.0 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Renewable energy | 19.6% | 2022 | World Development Indicators |

## Resources

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 11.4% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Mineral rents | 9.6% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest rents | 1.2% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Electricity access | 52.2% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Iron ore | 15 Mt | 2025 | Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 |

## Military

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.2% | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Defense spending | $260 M | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Armed forces | 21,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |

Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md).

Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:MRT:<metric>:<year>) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/MRT.claims.json

History: "From the Sanhaja desert and the Almoravid jihad to the caravan ksour and the modern Islamic Republic." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/MRT/chronicle.md (6 eras, 25 events).

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Citation template: Terralore, "Mauritania — national dossier", terralore.co/country/MRT, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.
