Polity · 1961 CE – present
Mauritania
République islamique de Mauritanie · الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية · Ndenndaandi Lislameeri Muritani
Also recorded as Islamic Republic of Mauritania
- Peak recorded area
- 1,136,290 km²
- 1975 CE
- Rulers on record
- 28
- from 1960 CE
- Data series
- 356
- 1961 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest. By land area Mauritania is the 11th-largest country in Africa and the 28th-largest in the world; 90% of its territory is in the Sahara desert.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
9 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 5.3Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 68.94years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -5,044persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.74% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 70.97years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 66.9years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 126 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP200 obs · 1820 CE–2019 CE | 3,926int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd100 obs · 1961 CE–2025 CE | 11.7Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 3,680.372011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agriculture % GDP65 obs · 1961 CE–2025 CE | 19.95% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP65 obs · 1961 CE–2025 CE | 29.75% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Services % GDP65 obs · 1961 CE–2025 CE | 42.37% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 35 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0.0003CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 795Kcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 16Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure53 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 139Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Mil Equip Aircraft Transport41 obs · 1974 CE–2014 CE | 8count2014 CE · rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.4366% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 0.2876% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 38.53%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.0896hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 39.7Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 450Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index121 obs · 1904 CE–2024 CE | 0.333index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index121 obs · 1904 CE–2024 CE | 0.135index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index121 obs · 1904 CE–2024 CE | 0.226index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type121 obs · 1904 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index121 obs · 1904 CE–2024 CE | 0.155index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity253 obs · 1960 CE–2012 CE | -2index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 52 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index121 obs · 1904 CE–2024 CE | 0.65index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 90.77per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %52 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 105.44%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Pupil Teacher Ratio Primary46 obs · 1971 CE–2018 CE | 34.28ratio2018 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles46 obs · 1945 CE–2001 CE | 18count2001 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Dpt Immunization %44 obs · 1981 CE–2024 CE | 86%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
28 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Moktar Ould DaddahHead of State1960 CE – 1978 CE
- Moktar Ould DaddahHead of Government1960 CE – 1961 CE
- Mustafa Ould SalekHead of State1978 CE – 1979 CE
- Ahmad Salim uld SidiHead of Government1979 CE
- Ahmed Ould BouceifHead of Government1979 CE
- Mohamed Khouna Ould HaidallaHead of Government1979 CE – 1980 CE
- Mohamed Mahmoud Ould LoulyHead of State1979 CE – 1980 CE
- Mohamed Khouna Ould HaidallaHead of State1980 CE – 1984 CE
- Sid Ahmed Ould BneijaraHead of Government1980 CE – 1981 CE
- Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TayaHead of Government1981 CE – 1984 CE
- Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed TayaHead of State1984 CE – 2005 CE
- Sidi Mohamed Ould BoubacarHead of Government1992 CE – 1996 CE
- Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed KhounaHead of Government1996 CE – 1997 CE
- Mohamed Lemine Ould GuigHead of Government1997 CE – 1998 CE
- Sghair Ould M'BareckHead of Government2003 CE – 2005 CE
- Ely Ould Mohamed VallHead of State2005 CE – 2007 CE
- Sidi Ould Cheikh AbdallahiHead of State2007 CE – 2008 CE
- Zeine Ould ZeidaneHead of Government2007 CE – 2008 CE
- Mohamed Ould Abdel AzizHead of State2008 CE – 2009 CE
- Moulaye Ould Mohamed LaghdafHead of Government2008 CE – 2014 CE
- Yahya Ould Ahmed El WaghefHead of Government2008 CE
- Ba Mamadou MbaréHead of State2009 CE
- Yahya Ould HademineHead of Government2014 CE – 2018 CE
- Mohamed Salem Ould BéchirHead of Government2018 CE – 2019 CE
- Ismail Ould Bedde Ould Cheikh SidiyaHead of Government2019 CE – 2020 CE
- Mohamed Ould GhazouaniHead of State2019 CE –
- Mohamed Ould BilalHead of Government2020 CE – 2024 CE
- Moctar Ould DjayHead of Government2024 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Mohamed Ould Cheikh el GHAZOUANI (since 1 August 2019); head of government: Prime Minister Moctar Ould DIAY (since 2 August 2024); cabinet: Council of Ministers nominees suggested by the prime minister, appointed by the president;
- Ethnic groups
- Black Moors (Haratines - Arabic-speaking descendants of African origin who are or were enslaved by White Moors) 40%, White Moors (of Arab-Amazigh descent, known as Beydane) 30%, Sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Halpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and…
- Natural resources
- iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish
- Economy
- lower middle-income West African economy; primarily agrarian; rising urbanization; poor property rights; systemic corruption; endemic social and workforce tensions; wide-scale terrorism; foreign over-fishing; environmentally fragile
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Arabic, Wolof
- Currency
- ouguiyas (MRO)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1961 CE –
- 14-member Defense Pact (1961)Military alliance · member1961 CE – 1964 CE
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member1963 CE –
- Mauritania–Morocco Non-Aggression Pact (1970)Historical alliance · member1970 CE – 1981 CE
- Arab LeagueALInternational organisation · member1973 CE –
- 23-member Entente (1945)Historical alliance · member1973 CE –
- ECOWASECOWASEconomic bloc · founding member1975 CE – 2000 CE
- 16-member Non-Aggression Pact (1977)Historical alliance · member1977 CE – 1981 CE
- 16-member Defense Pact (1981)Military alliance · member1981 CE – 2000 CE
- Mauritania–Algeria–Tunisia Non-Aggression Pact (1983)Historical alliance · member1983 CE – 1989 CE
- 5-member Defense Pact (1989)Military alliance · member1989 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
rDMC Military Capabilities v1.0v1.0
Reconstructed Data on Military Capabilities (rDMC), v1.0. Harvard Dataverse.
Academic use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Mauritania is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.