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

Nouakchott-Sud is a wilaya of the capital, Nouakchott of Mauritania, the largest of 15 by population. The 2023 General Population and Housing Census (RGPH-5) counted 627,415 residents in Nouakchott-Sud, 315,156 men and 312,259 women; that is 12.7% of Mauritania's 4,927,532 people and the largest of the 15 wilayas by population.

Population (2023 census)

627,415

2023

Households with electricity (2023 census)

91%

2023

Household population with at least basic drinking water

92.5%

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

27.9%

2019-2021

Children under 5 stunted

18.5%

2019-2021

Primary school net attendance rate

67.3%

2019-2021

Population in the poorest national wealth fifth

0.0%

2019-2021

In depth

Economy, jobs and prices in Nouakchott-Sud: 91% of households in Nouakchott-Sud had access to electricity at the 2023 census, 3rd highest of the 15 wilayas; across the wilayas the share ranged from 13% to 96%.
Health in Nouakchott-Sud: For every 1,000 babies born in Nouakchott-Sud in the ten years before the 2019-2021 survey, 13 died before their first birthday and 19 before their fifth; the under-five rate is the lowest of the 14 survey areas (Mauritania, last five years: 33 and 41).
Education in Nouakchott-Sud: 67.3% of primary-school-age children in Nouakchott-Sud were attending primary school in 2019-2021 (net attendance rate), 5th highest of the 14 survey areas (Mauritania: 56.0%).

Are there more men or women in Nouakchott-Sud?

Women made up 49.8% of Nouakchott-Sud'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-Sud part of Nouakchott?

Nouakchott-Sud 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-Sud?

36.0% of Nouakchott-Sud's residents were children under 15 at the 2023 census (225,798), 5th 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-Sud have?

At the birth rates of the three years before the 2019-2021 Demographic and Health Survey, a woman in Nouakchott-Sud would have 3.8 children in her lifetime (total fertility rate), the 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-Sud?

Almost nobody (0.0%) in Nouakchott-Sud lived in households in the poorest fifth of Mauritania by household wealth (assets and housing) in 2019-2021, and 49.2% 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-Sud registered?

66.6% of children under five in Nouakchott-Sud had their birth registered with the civil registry in 2019-2021, 6th 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

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
Nouakchott-Ouest 204,881
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…)

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