Demographics of Mauritania

Demographic features of the population of Mauritania (Arabic: التركيبة السكانية في موريتانيا) include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.

Demographics of Mauritania
Population pyramid of Mauritania in 2020
Population4,161,925 (2022 est.)
Growth rate1.99% (2022 est.)
Birth rate28.06 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate7.43 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy65.22 years
 • male62.77 years
 • female67.75 years
Fertility rate3.53 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate50.99 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-0.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years37.56%
65 and over3.92%
Nationality
NationalityMauritanian
Language
OfficialArabic

Population
Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2], the total population was 4,614,974 in 2021, compared to only 657 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 39.9%, 57.4% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.7% was 65 years or older.[3]

Total population (x 1000) Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 65743.854.81.4
1955 74443.654.71.6
1960 85444.353.81.8
1965 98445.252.82.0
1970 1 13445.852.12.2
1975 1 31245.851.92.3
1980 1 51845.651.92.4
1985 1 74845.352.22.5
1990 1 99644.952.52.6
1995 2 29244.053.42.7
2000 2 64342.754.62.7
2005 3 04741.256.12.7
2010 3 46039.957.42.7

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (Census 24.II.2013):

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 1 743 074 1 794 294 3 537 368 100
0-4 316 217 298 475 614 692 17.38
5-9 263 263 256 839 520 102 14.70
10-14 212 838 216 667 429 505 12.14
15-19 176 116 185 288 361 404 10.22
20-24 144 478 157 962 302 440 8.55
25-29 121 586 135 767 257 353 7.28
30-34 99 834 113 691 213 525 6.04
35-39 83 578 95 379 178 957 5.06
40-44 72 108 79 228 151 336 4.28
45-49 60 297 64 516 124 813 3.53
50-54 50 739 51 751 102 490 2.90
55-59 41 075 40 645 81 720 2.31
60-64 31 660 30 459 62 119 1.76
65-69 24 120 23 055 47 175 1.33
70-74 18 167 17 129 35 296 1.00
75-79 12 670 12 231 24 901 0.70
80-84 8 080 8 584 16 664 0.47
85+ 6 248 6 628 12 876 0.36
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0-14 792 318 771 981 1 564 299 44.22
15-64 881 471 954 686 1 836 157 51.91
65+ 69 285 67 627 136 912 3.87

Population by Age Group (Estimates 1.VII.2016) (Data refer to national projections.):[4]

Age Group Total %
Total 3 782 701 100
0–4 579 832 15.33
5–9 567 643 15.01
10–14 478 293 12.64
15–19 396 650 10.49
20–24 333 473 8.82
25–29 280 531 7.42
30–34 236 864 6.26
35–39 196 168 5.19
40–44 164 707 4.35
45–49 137 439 3.63
50–54 111 936 2.96
55–59 90 008 2.38
60–64 68 836 1.82
65–69 50 266 1.33
70–74 36 188 0.96
75-79 24 540 0.65
80+ 29 328 0.78
Age group Total Percent
0–14 1 625 768 42.98
15–64 2 016 611 53.31
65+ 140 322 3.71

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events in Mauritania is incomplete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [5]

Mid-year population (thousands) Live births (thousands) Deaths (thousands) Natural change (thousands) Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rate (TFR) Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Life expectancy (in years)
1950   659   30   15   15 45.2 23.0 22.2 6.12 157.1 38.74
1951   673   31   15   15 45.3 22.5 22.8 6.13 155.0 39.29
1952   689   31   15   16 45.2 22.1 23.1 6.13 152.8 39.77
1953   705   32   15   16 45.2 21.8 23.4 6.13 150.7 40.21
1954   721   33   15   17 45.3 21.4 23.9 6.16 148.4 40.78
1955   739   34   16   18 45.4 21.0 24.4 6.18 146.1 41.41
1956   757   35   16   19 45.6 20.7 24.9 6.21 143.6 41.94
1957   776   36   16   20 45.8 20.4 25.4 6.24 141.1 42.50
1958   796   37   16   21 46.0 20.0 26.0 6.28 138.4 43.16
1959   816   38   16   22 46.1 19.6 26.6 6.32 135.7 43.88
1960   838   39   16   23 46.3 19.0 27.3 6.35 133.0 44.77
1961   862   40   16   24 46.6 18.6 28.0 6.40 130.1 45.44
1962   886   41   16   25 46.6 18.3 28.3 6.43 127.3 46.05
1963   911   43   16   26 46.7 17.9 28.8 6.48 124.5 46.69
1964   938   44   16   28 46.8 17.4 29.4 6.53 121.7 47.45
1965   966   45   16   29 46.9 17.0 29.9 6.59 118.9 48.06
1966   995   47   17   30 47.0 16.6 30.3 6.64 116.1 48.73
1967   1 025   48   17   31 46.8 16.2 30.6 6.67 113.3 49.37
1968   1 056   49   17   32 46.5 15.8 30.7 6.68 110.6 50.04
1969   1 089   50   17   34 46.3 15.4 30.9 6.69 108.4 50.63
1970   1 122   52   17   35 46.0 15.1 30.8 6.69 107.0 51.04
1971   1 156   53   17   36 45.6 14.9 30.8 6.69 106.2 51.39
1972   1 191   54   18   37 45.5 14.7 30.7 6.70 105.8 51.66
1973   1 227   56   18   38 45.3 14.6 30.7 6.70 105.4 51.90
1974   1 264   57   18   39 45.1 14.4 30.7 6.70 104.9 52.18
1975   1 302   59   18   40 44.9 14.1 30.8 6.68 104.0 52.65
1976   1 342   60   19   41 44.7 13.9 30.8 6.67 102.6 52.92
1977   1 381   62   19   43 44.6 13.6 30.9 6.68 100.7 53.37
1978   1 422   63   19   44 44.3 13.3 31.0 6.67 98.5 53.86
1979   1 464   64   19   45 43.8 12.9 30.9 6.65 96.2 54.47
1980   1 507   66   19   47 43.8 12.6 31.2 6.62 94.0 55.06
1981   1 552   68   19   49 43.7 12.2 31.5 6.58 91.8 55.66
1982   1 598   69   19   50 43.3 11.8 31.5 6.53 89.6 56.28
1983   1 646   71   19   52 42.9 11.6 31.4 6.48 87.2 56.68
1984   1 696   72   19   53 42.5 11.2 31.2 6.41 84.6 57.16
1985   1 746   73   19   54 41.9 10.9 31.0 6.34 81.8 57.58
1986   1 798   74   19   55 41.4 10.6 30.7 6.25 79.1 57.99
1987   1 851   76   19   57 41.0 10.3 30.7 6.16 76.5 58.58
1988   1 906   78   19   59 40.7 10.0 30.7 6.11 74.2 59.14
1989   1 955   80   19   61 40.7 9.8 30.9 6.08 72.6 59.32
1990   2 006   82   19   62 40.6 9.6 31.0 6.06 71.0 59.77
1991   2 066   84   20   64 40.6 9.5 31.1 6.04 70.1 59.94
1992   2 148   87   20   67 40.6 9.4 31.3 6.04 69.5 60.26
1993   2 237   93   21   72 41.5 9.4 32.1 6.04 69.1 60.38
1994   2 315   95   22   73 40.9 9.4 31.6 5.92 68.9 60.34
1995   2 380   97   22   75 40.7 9.4 31.3 5.85 68.9 60.26
1996   2 429   97   23   74 39.6 9.4 30.2 5.71 69.1 60.06
1997   2 484   97   23   74 39.0 9.2 29.8 5.66 68.9 60.45
1998   2 551   98   23   75 38.4 9.1 29.4 5.57 68.8 60.61
1999   2 621   100   24   77 38.2 9.0 29.3 5.54 68.7 60.82
2000   2 695   102   24   78 37.8 8.9 28.9 5.46 68.5 61.03
2001   2 762   104   24   80 37.5 8.8 28.7 5.38 68.2 61.19
2002   2 822   105   25   80 37.0 8.7 28.3 5.29 68.0 61.27
2003   2 883   106   25   81 36.7 8.6 28.1 5.23 67.7 61.35
2004   2 947   109   25   84 36.8 8.5 28.2 5.19 67.0 61.59
2005   3 012   112   26   86 36.9 8.5 28.4 5.19 66.3 61.66
2006   3 081   115   26   89 37.1 8.4 28.7 5.19 65.2 61.89
2007   3 154   117   26   91 37.1 8.3 28.8 5.15 64.1 62.23
2008   3 233   121   27   94 37.2 8.2 29.0 5.15 62.7 62.40
2009   3 323   123   27   95 36.9 8.2 28.7 5.08 61.3 62.80
2010   3 419   126   28   97 36.8 8.3 28.4 5.04 59.8 63.11
2011   3 524   129   30   99 36.7 8.5 28.3 5.03 58.5 63.35
2012   3 636   132   31   101 36.4 8.6 27.8 4.99 57.2 63.58
2013   3 743   134   32   102 35.8 8.7 27.2 4.94 55.8 63.91
2014   3 843   137   32   105 35.5 8.3 27.2 4.89 54.4 64.16
2015   3 946   139   32   107 35.2 8.0 27.2 4.81 53.0 64.49
2016   4 052   141   31   110 34.8 7.7 27.1 4.74 51.7 64.77
2017   4 160   143   31   112 34.4 7.4 27.0 4.66 50.3 65.08
2018   4 271   146   31   115 34.2 7.2 26.9 4.61 49.1 65.31
2019   4 384   148   31   117 33.7 7.0 26.7 4.52 47.8 65.69
2020   4 499   150   34   117 33.4 7.5 26.0 4.46 46.5 64.53
2021   4 615   153   34   119 33.2 7.4 25.8 4.40 45.3 64.36

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[6]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
2000-2001 32.1 4.7 (4.3) 31.9 4.3 (3.9) 32.1 5.0 (4.7)
2003-2004 4.6 4.1 5.1
2019-2021 35.5 5.2 (4.5) 30.3 4.1 (3.6) 40.2 6.4 (5.5)

Fertility data as of 2010 (DHS Program):[7]

Zone Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Nouakchott4.38.05.7
Sud-Est5.010.45.2
Fleuve5.18.56.0
Nord4.67.16.5
Centre4.06.76.1

Life expectancy
Period Life expectancy in
Years[8]
1950–1955 41.72
1955–1960 Increase 45.19
1960–1965 Increase 47.93
1965–1970 Increase 50.28
1970–1975 Decrease 52.73
1975–1980 Increase 55.76
1980–1985 Increase 57.77
1985–1990 Increase 58.89
1990–1995 Increase 59.84
1995–2000 Increase 60.27
2000–2005 Increase 61.32
2005–2010 Increase 62.64
2010–2015 Increase 63.43

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[9]

  • One birth every 3 minutes
  • One death every 16 minutes
  • One net migrant every 120 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 4 minutes

The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[10] unless otherwise indicated.

Population
4,161,925 (2022 est.)
3,840,429 (July 2018 est.)
3,381,634 (June 2011 est.)

Religions

Muslim (official) 100%

Age structure
Population pyramid of Mauritania in 2020
0-14 years: 37.56% (male 755,788/female 748,671)
15-24 years: 19.71% (male 387,140/female 402,462)
25-54 years: 33.91% (male 630,693/female 727,518)
55-64 years: 4.9% (male 88,888/female 107,201)
65 years and over: 3.92% (2020 est.) (male 66,407/female 90,707)
0-14 years: 38.24% (male 737,570 /female 730,969)
15-24 years: 19.78% (male 372,070 /female 387,375)
25-54 years: 33.44% (male 595,472 /female 688,620)
55-64 years: 4.74% (male 82,197 /female 99,734)
65 years and over: 3.81% (male 62,072 /female 84,350) (2018 est.)

Median age
total: 21 years. Country comparison to the world: 187th
male: 20.1 years
female: 22 years (2020 est.)
total: 20.7 years. Country comparison to the world: 186th
male: 19.7 years
female: 21.6 years (2018 est.)
total: 19.3 years
male: 18.5 years
female: 20.2 years (2010 est.)

Birth rate
28.06 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 37th
29.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 38th

Death rate
7.43 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 109th
7.8 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 97th

Total fertility rate
3.53 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 38th
3.79 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 39th

Population growth rate
1.99% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 41st
2.14% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 41st
2.349% (2011 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth
21.4 years (2019-2021)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Contraceptive prevalence rate
17.8% (2015)

Net migration rate
-0.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 134th
-0.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 132nd

Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 76.5 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 71 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 5.5 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 18.3 (2015 est.)

Urbanization
Main article: List of cities in Mauritania
urban population: 56.9% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 53.7% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 4.28% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 65.22 years. Country comparison to the world: 204th
male: 62.77 years
female: 67.75 years (2022 est.)
total population: 63.8 years (2018 est.)
male: 61.4 years (2018 est.)
female: 66.2 years (2018 est.)
  • total population: 60.75 years
  • male: 58.57 years
  • female: 62.99 years (2010 est.)

Major infectious diseases
degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Mauritania is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Sex ratio
  • at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  • under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
  • 15–64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
  • total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Ethnic groups

Fair Moors (bidhanes) 53% or 2.4 million people, dark Moors (haratins) 30%, 17% sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Helpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara ethnic groups)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

9,500 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)

Nationality

noun: Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian

Languages

Arabic (official and national), French (widely used in media and among educated classes), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, Serer.[11]

Education expenditures
1.9% of GDP (2020) Country comparison to the world: 179th

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 53.5%
male: 63.7%
female: 43.4% (2017)
total population: 52.1% (2015 est.)
male: 62.6% (2015 est.)
female: 41.6% (2015 est.)
total population: 51.2%
male: 59.5%
female: 43.4% (2000 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 9 years
male: 9 years
female: 10 years (2019)
total: 8 years (2017)
male: 8 years (2017)
female: 8 years (2017)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 21.1%
male: 18.8%
female: 24.9% (2017 est.)

References
  1. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". population.un.org. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011.
  4. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  5. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2022). "World Population Prospects 2022 Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XLS (91MB)). United Nations Population Division. 27 (Online ed.). New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. rows 5693:5764, cols M,X,AE,S,AH,S,AA,AV,AI. Archived from the original on 2022-08-09.
  6. "Server Error". Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  7. "Demographics" (PDF). dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR256/FR256.pdf. 201. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  8. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  9. "Mauritania Population 2022", World Population Review
  10. Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Mauritania". The World Factbook (2023 ed.). CIA. 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2022. (Archived 2018 edition)
  11. Project, Joshua. "Serer in Mauritania". joshuaproject.net.
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