Nouakchott-Ouest: population, electricity, water, jobs, health, schooling and household wealth

Nouakchott-Ouest is a wilaya of the capital, Nouakchott of Mauritania, number 10 of 15 by population. The 2023 General Population and Housing Census (RGPH-5) counted 204,881 residents in Nouakchott-Ouest, 105,167 men and 99,714 women; that is 4.2% of Mauritania's 4,927,532 people and 6th smallest of the 15 wilayas by population.

Population (2023 census)

204,881

2023

Households with electricity (2023 census)

95%

2023

Household population with at least basic drinking water

87.2%

2019-2021

Under-five deaths per 1,000 live births (10 years before the survey)

2010-2021

Children 12-23 months with all basic vaccines

28.3%

2019-2021

Children under 5 stunted

14.5%

2019-2021

Primary school net attendance rate

66.9%

2019-2021

Population in the poorest national wealth fifth

0.0%

2019-2021

In depth

Economy, jobs and prices in Nouakchott-Ouest: 95% of households in Nouakchott-Ouest had access to electricity at the 2023 census, 2nd highest of the 15 wilayas; across the wilayas the share ranged from 13% to 96%.
Health in Nouakchott-Ouest: For every 1,000 babies born in Nouakchott-Ouest in the ten years before the 2019-2021 survey, 22 died before their first birthday and 28 before their fifth; the under-five rate is 2nd lowest of the 14 survey areas (Mauritania, last five years: 33 and 41).
Education in Nouakchott-Ouest: 66.9% of primary-school-age children in Nouakchott-Ouest were attending primary school in 2019-2021 (net attendance rate), 6th highest of the 14 survey areas (Mauritania: 56.0%).

Are there more men or women in Nouakchott-Ouest?

Women made up 48.7% of Nouakchott-Ouest's population at the 2023 census (Mauritania: 51.8%); it is one of the wilayas where men outnumber women.

Source: Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Démographique et Economique (ANSADE) · saved copy

Is Nouakchott-Ouest part of Nouakchott?

Nouakchott-Ouest is one of the three wilayas that together make up the capital, Nouakchott, created when the city was divided in 2014; the three had 1,446,761 residents in 2023, 29.4% of the country.

Source: Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Démographique et Economique (ANSADE) · saved copy

How young is the population of Nouakchott-Ouest?

31.1% of Nouakchott-Ouest's residents were children under 15 at the 2023 census (63,634), 2nd lowest share of the 15 wilayas (Mauritania: 41.5%).

Source: Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Démographique et Economique (ANSADE) · saved copy

How many children do women in Nouakchott-Ouest have?

At the birth rates of the three years before the 2019-2021 Demographic and Health Survey, a woman in Nouakchott-Ouest would have 4.0 children in her lifetime (total fertility rate), 3rd lowest of the 14 survey areas (Mauritania: 5.2).

Source: Office National de la Statistique (ONS, now ANSADE) and Ministère de la Santé, with ICF (The DHS Program) · saved copy

How poor is Nouakchott-Ouest?

Almost nobody (0.0%) in Nouakchott-Ouest lived in households in the poorest fifth of Mauritania by household wealth (assets and housing) in 2019-2021, and 62.3% in the richest fifth; the poorest-fifth share is the joint lowest of the 14 survey areas (each fifth is 20% nationally).

Source: Office National de la Statistique (ONS, now ANSADE) and Ministère de la Santé, with ICF (The DHS Program) · saved copy

Are births in Nouakchott-Ouest registered?

72.3% of children under five in Nouakchott-Ouest had their birth registered with the civil registry in 2019-2021, 3rd highest of the 14 survey areas (Mauritania: 44.8%).

Source: Office National de la Statistique (ONS, now ANSADE) and Ministère de la Santé, with ICF (The DHS Program) · saved copy

How wilaya of the capital, Nouakchotts are governed in Mauritania

Regions (13, matching the wilayas; Nouakchott region covers 3 wilayas). Regional council (11–25 members; 37 in Nouakchott) and its president elected by voters for five years. Regional development; created by Organic Law 2018-010.

Every tier of government in Mauritania

Other wilaya of the capital, Nouakchotts of Mauritania

Nouakchott-Sud 627,415
Hodh Ech Chargui 625,643
Nouakchott-Nord 614,465
Assaba 451,804
Gorgol 442,490
Hodh El Gharbi 403,091
Brakna 391,310
Guidimakha 363,075
Trarza 323,903
Dakhlet Nouadhibou 184,459
Tagant 114,760
Tiris Zemmour 79,129
Adrar 71,623
Inchiri 29,484

Up a level: Mauritania · government and power in Mauritania

Sources

Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Démographique et Economique (ANSADE): RGPH-5 Atlas Démographique, October 2025 (maps I-7-2, II-2-1, III-4-2 and III-4-3 by wilaya), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 dc101d7959c6…)
Office National de la Statistique (ONS, now ANSADE) and Ministère de la Santé, with ICF (The DHS Program): Enquête Démographique et de Santé de la Mauritanie (EDSM) 2019-2021, final report: wilaya rows of Tables 2.1.2, 2.6, 2.11, 2.13, 3.3, 3.6, 3.9.1, 5.2, 8.1, 8.3, 9.1, 9.6, 10.3, 11.1 and 17.2, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c0c593e154fd…)
Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse Démographique et Economique (ANSADE): RGPH 2023: Population des Wilayas, Moughataa et Communes (final results of the 5th General Population and Housing Census), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ab6f0a1f07d8…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.