Mauritania: crime and justice

What is the crime rate in Mauritania?

31 homicides were recorded in Mauritania in 2025, a rate of 0.59 per 100,000 people, according to ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025, citing the Directorate General of National Security. There were 40 in 2024 (0.81 per 100,000), 36 in 2023 and 33 in 2022.

The yearbook also publishes residential burglaries by wilaya and prison statistics from the Ministry of Justice. Dar Naim prison was at 226.3% of its capacity in 2025, down from 341% in 2024. Because homicide numbers are small, the rate per 100,000 can change noticeably from year to year. These are police-recorded figures and depend on reporting and recording.

Official sources: ANSADE: Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025 (PDF)

How many people are in prison in Mauritania?

3,349 people were held in Mauritania's prisons in 2025, up from 2,390 in 2024, according to ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025, citing the Ministry of Justice's Prisons Directorate. 79 were women, and 2,001 were held in Nouakchott.

1,329 detainees were in pre-trial detention in 2025, the yearbook's judicial efficiency table shows, against 1,247 in 2024. The Dar Naim prison held 226.3% of its capacity, the women's prison 109% and the central prison 90.7%. The yearbook's tables by prison and by wilaya do not always cover the same establishments, so some totals differ between tables.

Official sources: Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025

How many burglaries are there in Mauritania?

2,283 household burglaries were recorded in Mauritania in 2025, up from 1,955 in 2024, according to ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025. 1,923 of them were in Nouakchott, the capital, where about a third of the population lives.

These are recorded cases, so they depend on whether victims report burglaries and how they are recorded, and they are not a full measure of crime. The yearbook gives only two years of figures, by wilaya, so it does not yet show a longer trend. The same yearbook gives 31 homicides in 2025.

Official sources: Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025

What is the homicide rate in Mauritania?

The latest figure from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, for 2020, is 1.0 per 100,000. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 4.6 per 100,000, and Mauritania placed 15th highest of 15. Worldwide: 89th of 121.

How many battle deaths has Mauritania had?

According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, battle-related deaths in Mauritania was 3 in 2024. It was 1 in 2010. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 164; Mauritania is 18th highest of 20. Worldwide: 36th of 41.