Mauritania: health and care

What is life expectancy in Mauritania?

Life expectancy at birth in Mauritania was 68.9 years in 2023, 68.0 for men and 69.9 for women, according to ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025, based on the 2023 population census. The World Bank's life expectancy series gives 68.71 years for 2024.

Life expectancy has risen from 60.3 years in 2013, according to ANSADE. The World Bank's under-5 mortality series shows 36.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024, down from 39.4 in 2022. Life expectancy at birth is an average for a newborn under current death rates, not a forecast.

Official sources: ANSADE: Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025 (PDF) · World Bank: Life expectancy at birth, Mauritania · World Bank: Under-5 mortality rate, Mauritania

How many doctors are there in Mauritania?

Mauritania's public health workforce included 631 specialist doctors and 740 general practitioners in 2025, according to ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025, citing the Ministry of Health's statistical yearbooks. The total health workforce was 8,789, including 3,070 medical nurses, 1,751 state nurses and 1,312 midwives. The 2025 figures are the same as those for 2024.

The World Bank's physicians series, based on WHO data, shows 0.26 doctors per 1,000 people in 2022. With 1,371 doctors for a population of about 5.3 million, there are about 0.26 doctors per 1,000 people.

Official sources: ANSADE: Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025 (PDF) · World Bank: Physicians per 1,000 people, Mauritania

What is the infant mortality rate in Mauritania?

Mauritania's infant mortality rate was 33.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023, down from 72 in 2013, according to the 2023 census analysis in ANSADE's mortality report (RGPH 2023, theme 5). The under-five mortality rate was 46.2 per 1,000.

The census rate was 34.4 for boys and 32.1 for girls. The census asks households about births and deaths in the past year, so the figures are estimates rather than registered deaths. The UN modelled estimate on World Bank Open Data is 30.2 per 1,000 for 2024. The crude death rate fell from 10.9 per 1,000 in 2013 to 6.1 in 2023, ANSADE reports.

Official sources: mortality report (RGPH 2023, theme 5) · World Bank Open Data

How many women die in childbirth in Mauritania?

Mauritania's maternal mortality ratio was 498 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023, according to ANSADE's analysis of the 2023 census (theme 5). It was 445 in towns and 549 in rural areas, and 726 for mothers aged 15 to 19.

The Ministry of Health recorded 174 maternal deaths in public maternity units in 2025, which handled 125,530 deliveries, according to ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025. The UN modelled estimate on World Bank Open Data is lower, at 381 per 100,000 for 2023. Census and modelled figures use different methods, so they should not be compared as a trend.

Official sources: analysis of the 2023 census (theme 5) · Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025 · World Bank Open Data

How many children in Mauritania are vaccinated?

78.1% of children under one in Mauritania received the third dose of the pentavalent vaccine (Penta3) in 2025, down from 86% in 2024 and 90% in 2023, according to ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025, citing the Ministry of Health's statistical yearbooks.

Penta3 protects against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Hib, and is a common measure of how well routine immunisation reaches children. Coverage ranged from 57.7% in Inchiri to over 100% in Nouakchott-Ouest in 2025. Rates above 100% happen when children from other areas are vaccinated in a wilaya or when the target population is underestimated.

Official sources: Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025

How many hospitals does Mauritania have?

Mauritania had 27 public hospitals, 157 health centres and 918 health posts in 2025, according to ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025, citing the Ministry of Health. The number of health centres rose from 132 in 2024, and Nouakchott-Ouest has 7 of the hospitals.

Health posts are the first level of care in villages and neighbourhoods, staffed mainly by nurses. Health centres are the next level, and hospitals provide specialist and referral care. The figures cover public facilities, not private clinics. Every wilaya has at least one hospital.

Official sources: Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025

How much does Mauritania spend on health?

Mauritania's current health spending was 4.34% of GDP in 2023, down from 4.67% in 2022, according to WHO estimates on World Bank Open Data. Households paid 43.77% of it directly out of pocket, the same source shows.

Current health spending covers all sources: government, health insurance, households and donors, but not investment in buildings and equipment. Out-of-pocket payments are what patients pay at the point of care, such as fees and medicines. A high share means illness can push households into poverty. The WHO Global Health Expenditure Database is the original source.

Official sources: World Bank Open Data · the same source shows

How many children do women in Mauritania have?

Women in Mauritania had an average of 4.7 children in 2023, according to the 2023 census figures in ANSADE's Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025. The crude birth rate was 32.6 per 1,000 people, and the population grew by 3.1% a year.

The total fertility rate is the number of children a woman would have if she experienced current birth rates at each age. The rate was 4.3 in the 2013 census and 5.2 in the 2019 demographic survey, but different sources measure it differently. The UN estimate on World Bank Open Data is 4.62 for 2024. 41.5% of Mauritanians were under 15 in 2025.

Official sources: Socio-demographic Statistics Yearbook 2025 · World Bank Open Data (API)

What is life expectancy in Mauritania?

The UN Population Division puts life expectancy at birth in Mauritania at 68.7 years in 2024. No year since 2005 has been higher. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 64.3 years, and Mauritania placed 8th highest of 48. Worldwide: 140th of 193.

What is Mauritania's infant mortality rate?

The latest figure from the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, for 2024, is 30.2 per 1,000. That is the lowest since at least 2005. It is 36th highest of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 37.2 per 1,000. World rank, highest first: 47th of 192.

What is the maternal mortality rate in Mauritania?

According to the WHO, the maternal mortality ratio in Mauritania was 381 per 100,000 in 2023. That is the lowest since at least 2005. It is 14th highest of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 257 per 100,000. World rank, highest first: 15th of 192.

What share of GDP does Mauritania spend on health care?

According to the WHO, current health spending in Mauritania was 4.3% of GDP in 2023. Its high point since 2005 was 2022, at 4.7% of GDP; its low point was 2011, at 2.5% of GDP. Across Sub-Saharan Africa the middle value was 4.4% of GDP, and Mauritania placed 26th highest of 48. Worldwide: 144th of 191.

What is out-of-pocket health spending in Mauritania?

According to the WHO, out-of-pocket health spending in Mauritania was 43.8% in 2023. The peak was 68.2% in 2006 and the low 41.7% in 2022. It is 20th highest of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 32.4%. Worldwide: 49th of 191.

How many doctors does Mauritania have?

According to the WHO, the number of doctors per 1,000 people in Mauritania was 0.26 per 1,000 in 2022. It is the top of the series, which starts in 2009. It is 13th highest of 46 in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the median is 0.18 per 1,000. Of 125 countries with 2022 data, 90th highest.

What is the measles vaccination rate in Mauritania?

The latest figure from WHO and UNICEF, for 2024, is 93.0%. It is the top of the series, which starts in 2005. Sub-Saharan Africa median: 81.0%; Mauritania is 6th highest of 48. Worldwide: 74th of 191.