This article is about the demographic features of the population of Mauritania (Arabic: التركيبة السكانية في موريتانيا), including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
| Demographics of Mauritania | |
|---|---|
 Population pyramid of Mauritania in 2020 | |
| Population | 47,161,925 (2022 est.) |
| Growth rate | 1.99% (2022 est.) |
| Birth rate | 28.06 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Death rate | 7.43 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 65.22 years |
| • male | 62.77 years |
| • female | 67.75 years |
| Fertility rate | 3.53 children born/woman (2022 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | 50.99 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Net migration rate | -0.72 migrant(s)/10,000 population (2022 est.) |
| Age structure | |
| 0–14 years | 37.56% |
| 65 and over | 3.92% |
| Nationality | |
| Nationality | Mauritanian |
| Sprache | |
| Official | Arabic |
Population
According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2], the total population was 4,614,974 in 2021, compared to only 657 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 39.9%, 57.4% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.7% was 65 years or older.[3]
| Total population (x 1000) | Population aged 0–14 (%) | Population aged 15–64 (%) | Population aged 65+ (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 657 | 43.8 | 54.8 | 1.4 |
| 1955 | 744 | 43.6 | 54.7 | 1.6 |
| 1960 | 854 | 44.3 | 53.8 | 1.8 |
| 1965 | 984 | 45.2 | 52.8 | 2.0 |
| 1970 | 1 134 | 45.8 | 52.1 | 2.2 |
| 1975 | 1 312 | 45.8 | 51.9 | 2.3 |
| 1980 | 1 518 | 45.6 | 51.9 | 2.4 |
| 1985 | 1 748 | 45.3 | 52.2 | 2.5 |
| 1990 | 1 996 | 44.9 | 52.5 | 2.6 |
| 1995 | 2 292 | 44.0 | 53.4 | 2.7 |
| 2000 | 2 643 | 42.7 | 54.6 | 2.7 |
| 2005 | 3 047 | 41.2 | 56.1 | 2.7 |
| 2010 | 3 460 | 39.9 | 57.4 | 2.7 |
Structure of the population
Structure of the population (24.03.2013) (Census, complete tabulation) :
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1 743 074 | 1 794 294 | 3 537 368 | 100 |
| 0-4 | 316 217 | 298 475 | 614 692 | 17.38 |
| 5-9 | 263 263 | 256 839 | 520 102 | 14.70 |
| 10-14 | 212 838 | 216 667 | 429 505 | 12.14 |
| 15-19 | 176 116 | 185 288 | 361 404 | 10.22 |
| 20-24 | 144 478 | 157 962 | 302 440 | 8.55 |
| 25-29 | 121 586 | 135 767 | 257 353 | 7.28 |
| 30-34 | 99 834 | 113 691 | 213 525 | 6.04 |
| 35-39 | 83 578 | 95 379 | 178 957 | 5.06 |
| 40-44 | 72 108 | 79 228 | 151 336 | 4.28 |
| 45-49 | 60 297 | 64 516 | 124 813 | 3.53 |
| 50-54 | 50 739 | 51 751 | 102 490 | 2.90 |
| 55-59 | 41 075 | 40 645 | 81 720 | 2.31 |
| 60-64 | 31 660 | 30 459 | 62 119 | 1.76 |
| 65-69 | 24 120 | 23 055 | 47 175 | 1.33 |
| 70-74 | 18 167 | 17 129 | 35 296 | 1.00 |
| 75-79 | 12 670 | 12 231 | 24 901 | 0.70 |
| 80-84 | 8 080 | 8 584 | 16 664 | 0.47 |
| 85+ | 6 248 | 6 628 | 12 876 | 0.36 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0-14 | 792 318 | 771 981 | 1 564 299 | 44.22 |
| 15-64 | 881 471 | 954 686 | 1 836 157 | 51.91 |
| 65+ | 69 285 | 67 627 | 136 912 | 3.87 |
Population by Age Group (Estimates 1.VII.2016): [4]
| Age Group | Total | % |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 3 782 701 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 579 832 | 15.33 |
| 5–9 | 567 643 | 15.01 |
| 10–14 | 478 293 | 12.64 |
| 15–19 | 396 650 | 10.49 |
| 20–24 | 333 473 | 8.82 |
| 25–29 | 280 531 | 7.42 |
| 30–34 | 236 864 | 6.26 |
| 35–39 | 196 168 | 5.19 |
| 40–44 | 164 707 | 4.35 |
| 45–49 | 137 439 | 3.63 |
| 50–54 | 111 936 | 2.96 |
| 55–59 | 90 008 | 2.38 |
| 60–64 | 68 836 | 1.82 |
| 65–69 | 50 266 | 1.33 |
| 70–74 | 36 188 | 0.96 |
| 75-79 | 24 540 | 0.65 |
| 80+ | 29 328 | 0.78 |
| Age group | Total | Percent |
| 0–14 | 1 625 768 | 42.98 |
| 15–64 | 2 016 611 | 53.31 |
| 65+ | 140 322 | 3.71 |
Vital statistics
Registration of vital events in Mauritania is incomplete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [3]
| Period | Live births per year | Deaths per year | Natural change per year | CBR* | CDR* | NC* | TFR* | IMR* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-1955 | 34 000 | 16 000 | 18 000 | 48.6 | 23.4 | 25.1 | 6.34 | 151 |
| 1955-1960 | 40 000 | 18 000 | 22 000 | 50.2 | 22.2 | 28.0 | 6.71 | 149 |
| 1960-1965 | 45 000 | 19 000 | 26 000 | 49.3 | 20.7 | 28.6 | 6.79 | 147 |
| 1965-1970 | 51 000 | 20 000 | 31 000 | 47.9 | 19.1 | 28.8 | 6.79 | 143 |
| 1970-1975 | 57 000 | 20 000 | 37 000 | 46.5 | 16.3 | 30.2 | 6.75 | 133 |
| 1975-1980 | 63 000 | 20 000 | 43 000 | 44.7 | 14.2 | 30.4 | 6.57 | 113 |
| 1980-1985 | 70 000 | 20 000 | 49 000 | 42.6 | 12.4 | 30.1 | 6.28 | 93 |
| 1985-1990 | 77 000 | 22 000 | 56 000 | 41.3 | 11.6 | 29.7 | 6.06 | 81 |
| 1990-1995 | 86 000 | 23 000 | 62 000 | 40.0 | 11.0 | 29.0 | 5.78 | 77 |
| 1995-2000 | 94 000 | 26 000 | 68 000 | 38.2 | 10.6 | 27.6 | 5.40 | 76 |
| 2000-2005 | 104 000 | 29 000 | 75 000 | 36.6 | 10.3 | 26.3 | 5.05 | 77 |
| 2005-2010 | 113 000 | 33 000 | 81 000 | 34.8 | 10.1 | 24.8 | 4.71 | 77 |
| * CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman; IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births) | ||||||||
Fertility and Births
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[5]
| Year | CBR (Total) | TFR (Total) | CBR (Urban) | TFR (Urban) | CBR (Rural) | TFR (Rural) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-2001 | 32.1 | 4.7 (4.3) | 31.9 | 4.3 (3.9) | 32.1 | 5.0 (4.7) |
| 2003-2004 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 5.1 | |||
| 2019-2021 | 35.5 | 5.2 (4.5) | 30.3 | 4.1 (3.6) | 40.2 | 6.4 (5.5) |
Fertility data as of 2010 (DHS Program):[6]
| Zone | Total fertility rate | Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant | Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nouakchott | 4.3 | 8.0 | 5.7 |
| Sud-Est | 5.0 | 10.4 | 5.2 |
| Fleuve | 5.1 | 8.5 | 6.0 |
| Nord | 4.6 | 7.1 | 6.5 |
| Centre | 4.0 | 6.7 | 6.1 |
Life expectancy
| Period | Life expectancy in Years[7] |
|---|---|
| 1950–1955 | 41.72 |
| 1955–1960 |  45.19
|
| 1960–1965 | 47.93
|
| 1965–1970 | 50.28
|
| 1970–1975 |  52.73
|
| 1975–1980 | 55.76
|
| 1980–1985 | 57.77
|
| 1985–1990 | 58.89
|
| 1990–1995 | 59.84
|
| 1995–2000 | 60.27
|
| 2000–2005 | 61.32
|
| 2005–2010 | 62.64
|
| 2010–2015 | 63.43
|
Other demographic statistics
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[8]
- One birth every 3 minutes
- One death every 16 minutes
- One net migrant every 120 minutes
- Net gain of one person every 4 minutes
The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook[9] unless otherwise indicated.
Population
- 4,161,925 (2022 est.)
- 3,840,429 (July 2018 est.)
- 3,381,634 (June 2011 est.)
Religions
Muslim (official) 100%
Age structure
- 0-14 years: 37.56% (male 755,788/female 748,671)
- 15-24 years: 19.71% (male 387,140/female 402,462)
- 25-54 years: 33.91% (male 630,693/female 727,518)
- 55-64 years: 4.9% (male 88,888/female 107,201)
- 65 years and over: 3.92% (2020 est.) (male 66,407/female 90,707)
- 0-14 years: 38.24% (male 737,570 /female 730,969)
- 15-24 years: 19.78% (male 372,070 /female 387,375)
- 25-54 years: 33.44% (male 595,472 /female 688,620)
- 55-64 years: 4.74% (male 82,197 /female 99,734)
- 65 years and over: 3.81% (male 62,072 /female 84,350) (2018 est.)
Median age
- total: 21 years. Country comparison to the world: 187th
- male: 20.1 years
- female: 22 years (2020 est.)
- total: 20.7 years. Country comparison to the world: 186th
- male: 19.7 years
- female: 21.6 years (2018 est.)
- total: 19.3 years
- male: 18.5 years
- female: 20.2 years (2010 est.)
Birth rate
- 28.06 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 37th
- 29.9 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 38th
Death rate
- 7.43 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 109th
- 7.8 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 97th
- 3.53 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 38th
- 3.79 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 39th
Population growth rate
- 1.99% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 41st
- 2.14% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 41st
- 2.349% (2011 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
- 21.4 years (2019-2021)
- note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
Contraceptive prevalence rate
- 17.8% (2015)
Net migration rate
- -0.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 134th
- -0.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 132nd
Dependency ratios
- total dependency ratio: 76.5 (2015 est.)
- youth dependency ratio: 71 (2015 est.)
- elderly dependency ratio: 5.5 (2015 est.)
- potential support ratio: 18.3 (2015 est.)
Urbanization
- urban population: 56.9% of total population (2022)
- rate of urbanization: 3.84% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
- urban population: 53.7% of total population (2018)
- rate of urbanization: 4.28% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
- total population: 65.22 years. Country comparison to the world: 204th
- male: 62.77 years
- female: 67.75 years (2022 est.)
- total population: 63.8 years (2018 est.)
- male: 61.4 years (2018 est.)
- female: 66.2 years (2018 est.)
- total population: 60.75 years
- male: 58.57 years
- female: 62.99 years (2010 est.)
Major infectious diseases
- degree of risk: very high (2020)
- food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
- vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
- animal contact diseases: rabies
- respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Mauritania is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine
Sex ratio
- at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
- under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
- 15–64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
- total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Ethnic groups
Fair Moors (bidhanes) 53% or 2.4 million people, dark Moors (haratins) 30%, 17% sub-Saharan Mauritanians (non-Arabic speaking, largely resident in or originating from the Senegal River Valley, including Helpulaar, Fulani, Soninke, Wolof, and Bambara ethnic groups)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
9,500 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)
Nationality
noun: Mauritanian(s) adjective: Mauritanian
Languages
Arabic (official and national), French (widely used in media and among educated classes), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, Serer.[10]
Education expenditures
- 1.9% of GDP (2020) Country comparison to the world: 179th
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
- total population: 53.5%
- male: 63.7%
- female: 43.4% (2017)
- total population: 52.1% (2015 est.)
- male: 62.6% (2015 est.)
- female: 41.6% (2015 est.)
- total population: 51.2%
- male: 59.5%
- female: 43.4% (2000 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
- total: 9 years
- male: 9 years
- female: 10 years (2019)
- total: 8 years (2017)
- male: 8 years (2017)
- female: 8 years (2017)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
- total: 21.1%
- male: 18.8%
- female: 24.9% (2017 est.)
References
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
- ^ a b "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". population.un.org. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011.
- ^ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Demographics" (PDF). dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR256/FR256.pdf. 201. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
- ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
- ^ "Mauritania Population 2022", World Population Review
- ^ "The World FactBook - Mauritania", The World Factbook, 2022
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Project, Joshua. "Serer in Mauritania". joshuaproject.net.
External links
