Country or area · Western Africa · Africa · UN WPP 2024

Mauritania population

Mauritania population now

5,497,344

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 5.4–5.7 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 5,022,442

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 5.46132 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 5.4–5.7 million
Median age: 18.5
Aged 65+: 3.3%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 2,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

MRT · 1950–2100 · in brief

Mauritania in numbers

The UN counts 5,022,442 people in Mauritania in mid-2023, which makes it the 127th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.06% of the world's people. That is 7.6 times its 1950 population of 658 thousand.

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 17.1 million. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 8.7 million to 36.8 million.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 17.7 in 1950 and 18.1 in 2023; the projection has 35.7 in 2100. 3.2% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 15.3% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

Among countries it ranks 127th in 2023, 102nd in 2050 and 85th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Costa Rica in 2024, Ireland in 2025 and New Zealand in 2025.

Population, mid-2023: 5,022,442
Rank by population, 2023: 127 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.06%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +3.01% · +146,804 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 4.9
Land area, 2023: 1,030,700 km²
Births, 2023: 172,885
Deaths, 2023: 27,725
Net migration, 2023: +2,999
Children per woman, 2023: 4.70
Median age, 2023: 18.1 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 68.5 years
In a city, 2025: 38 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 657,715
Projected, mid-2050: 9,415,598
Projected, mid-2100: 17,118,470

MRT · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections010 m20 m30 m40 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Mauritania, 1950–2100

Mauritania: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	651,343		28,308	15,342	5.79	38.4
1951	estimate	664,087		29,049	15,225	5.81	38.9
1952	estimate	677,680		29,801	15,309	5.83	39.2
1953	estimate	691,929		30,606	15,438	5.85	39.6
1954	estimate	706,851		31,456	15,540	5.87	40.1
1955	estimate	722,494		32,481	15,737	5.92	40.6
1956	estimate	738,954		33,496	15,896	5.96	41.1
1957	estimate	756,258		34,541	16,048	6.00	41.7
1958	estimate	774,435		35,667	16,232	6.05	42.3
1959	estimate	793,557		36,814	16,400	6.09	42.9
1960	estimate	813,656		38,123	16,519	6.15	43.6
1961	estimate	834,939		39,433	16,653	6.20	44.3
1962	estimate	857,394		40,677	16,750	6.24	45.0
1963	estimate	880,975		42,097	16,848	6.31	45.8
1964	estimate	905,872		43,480	16,915	6.37	46.6
1965	estimate	932,038		45,019	16,991	6.44	47.4
1966	estimate	959,639		46,566	17,064	6.52	48.1
1967	estimate	988,675		47,981	17,128	6.57	48.9
1968	estimate	1,019,011		49,287	17,258	6.60	49.5
1969	estimate	1,050,467		50,656	17,403	6.64	50.1
1970	estimate	1,083,040		52,004	17,622	6.68	50.5
1971	estimate	1,116,572		53,271	17,993	6.70	50.8
1972	estimate	1,150,832		54,495	18,311	6.71	51.0
1973	estimate	1,185,878		55,827	18,704	6.72	51.2
1974	estimate	1,221,797		57,174	19,068	6.73	51.4
1975	estimate	1,258,580		58,441	19,466	6.71	51.6
1976	estimate	1,296,080		59,975	19,826	6.73	51.8
1977	estimate	1,334,593		61,512	20,161	6.74	52.0
1978	estimate	1,372,944		62,905	20,365	6.73	52.4
1979	estimate	1,412,482		64,025	20,487	6.70	52.8
1980	estimate	1,453,034		65,630	20,604	6.67	53.2
1981	estimate	1,495,051		67,342	20,701	6.63	53.7
1982	estimate	1,538,702		68,662	20,715	6.59	54.2
1983	estimate	1,583,649		70,040	20,852	6.54	54.6
1984	estimate	1,629,844		71,481	20,775	6.48	55.2
1985	estimate	1,677,541		72,807	20,682	6.42	55.8
1986	estimate	1,726,672		73,968	20,654	6.34	56.3
1987	estimate	1,776,998		75,568	20,532	6.27	57.0
1988	estimate	1,829,031		77,182	20,527	6.21	57.5
1989	estimate	1,882,686		79,515	20,850	6.20	57.7
1990	estimate	1,923,410		80,798	20,863	6.17	58.1
1991	estimate	1,980,346		82,994	21,213	6.16	58.3
1992	estimate	2,039,130		85,012	21,511	6.13	58.6
1993	estimate	2,137,141		90,598	22,430	6.09	58.7
1994	estimate	2,211,515		93,762	23,192	6.06	58.8
1995	estimate	2,287,392		96,036	23,793	5.96	58.9
1996	estimate	2,336,642		96,001	24,063	5.86	58.9
1997	estimate	2,379,734		95,014	23,689	5.74	59.4
1998	estimate	2,442,878		95,583	23,538	5.62	59.9
1999	estimate	2,506,423		96,886	23,334	5.52	60.4
2000	estimate	2,576,973		99,085	23,157	5.46	61.0
2001	estimate	2,649,910		101,747	22,979	5.41	61.7
2002	estimate	2,707,609		103,671	22,680	5.37	62.3
2003	estimate	2,769,700		106,230	22,427	5.36	62.8
2004	estimate	2,834,392		109,792	22,214	5.37	63.4
2005	estimate	2,902,935		112,966	22,024	5.38	63.9
2006	estimate	2,975,182		116,815	21,826	5.40	64.5
2007	estimate	3,052,138		120,757	21,863	5.43	64.9
2008	estimate	3,133,981		124,382	21,950	5.44	65.2
2009	estimate	3,232,556		128,109	22,838	5.41	65.5
2010	estimate	3,336,341		132,040	23,921	5.38	65.7
2011	estimate	3,445,588		136,404	25,238	5.38	65.8
2012	estimate	3,560,035		140,200	26,711	5.35	65.8
2013	estimate	3,678,033		143,806	28,245	5.32	65.9
2014	estimate	3,790,604		146,731	27,941	5.26	66.2
2015	estimate	3,906,423		149,827	27,734	5.21	66.5
2016	estimate	4,025,494		152,849	27,507	5.16	66.8
2017	estimate	4,147,819		155,985	27,425	5.11	67.1
2018	estimate	4,273,380		158,852	27,266	5.04	67.4
2019	estimate	4,401,990		161,780	27,318	4.98	67.6
2020	estimate	4,533,426		164,387	29,488	4.91	66.8
2021	estimate	4,666,836		167,340	29,781	4.85	66.8
2022	estimate	4,802,913		169,886	27,435	4.77	68.3
2023	estimate	4,948,362		172,885	27,725	4.70	68.5
2024	estimate	5,096,521		175,914	27,985	4.63	68.7
2025	projection	5,242,270	5.2–5.3 million	178,900	28,262	4.56	68.9
2026	projection	5,387,859	5.3–5.5 million	181,311	28,554	4.49	69.2
2027	projection	5,534,779	5.4–5.7 million	184,292	28,873	4.42	69.4
2028	projection	5,682,803	5.5–5.9 million	187,121	29,210	4.36	69.6
2029	projection	5,833,110	5.6–6.1 million	189,472	29,597	4.29	69.8
2030	projection	5,985,283	5.7–6.3 million	192,444	30,008	4.24	70.0
2031	projection	6,139,773	5.8–6.5 million	195,192	30,458	4.18	70.2
2032	projection	6,295,805	5.8–6.7 million	197,382	30,905	4.11	70.4
2033	projection	6,453,886	5.9–6.9 million	198,758	31,373	4.02	70.6
2034	projection	6,613,795	6.0–7.1 million	201,535	31,907	3.97	70.8
2035	projection	6,775,106	6.1–7.4 million	203,552	32,426	3.90	70.9
2036	projection	6,937,531	6.2–7.6 million	205,257	32,968	3.83	71.1
2037	projection	7,100,938	6.3–7.8 million	207,598	33,575	3.78	71.3
2038	projection	7,265,300	6.4–8.1 million	209,392	34,145	3.71	71.5
2039	projection	7,431,429	6.4–8.3 million	211,515	34,769	3.66	71.7
2040	projection	7,598,054	6.5–8.6 million	213,430	35,402	3.60	71.8
2041	projection	7,765,763	6.6–8.9 million	215,441	36,119	3.55	72.0
2042	projection	7,934,683	6.7–9.1 million	217,526	36,813	3.50	72.2
2043	projection	8,106,285	6.8–9.4 million	219,559	37,548	3.45	72.3
2044	projection	8,278,813	6.9–9.7 million	220,675	38,301	3.39	72.5
2045	projection	8,451,551	7.0–10.0 million	222,642	39,065	3.35	72.7
2046	projection	8,625,511	7.0–10.3 million	224,062	39,870	3.30	72.8
2047	projection	8,801,008	7.1–10.6 million	226,000	40,710	3.26	73.0
2048	projection	8,975,954	7.2–10.8 million	227,524	41,546	3.21	73.2
2049	projection	9,152,484	7.3–11.2 million	229,118	42,437	3.17	73.3
2050	projection	9,327,872	7.4–11.5 million	230,876	43,347	3.14	73.5
2051	projection	9,503,324	7.4–11.8 million	232,570	44,289	3.10	73.7
2052	projection	9,680,677	7.5–12.2 million	234,027	45,261	3.06	73.8
2053	projection	9,858,745	7.5–12.5 million	235,007	46,226	3.02	74.0
2054	projection	10,036,154	7.6–12.9 million	235,730	47,205	2.98	74.2
2055	projection	10,212,506	7.7–13.2 million	236,863	48,266	2.95	74.3
2056	projection	10,388,394	7.7–13.6 million	237,883	49,363	2.92	74.5
2057	projection	10,562,823	7.8–14.0 million	238,644	50,462	2.88	74.6
2058	projection	10,738,529	7.8–14.3 million	239,579	51,624	2.85	74.8
2059	projection	10,916,149	7.9–14.7 million	240,740	52,872	2.82	74.9
2060	projection	11,092,814	7.9–15.1 million	241,794	54,044	2.79	75.1
2061	projection	11,267,625	8.0–15.5 million	242,567	55,247	2.77	75.2
2062	projection	11,442,432	8.0–15.8 million	243,485	56,477	2.74	75.4
2063	projection	11,617,035	8.1–16.3 million	244,366	57,756	2.72	75.6
2064	projection	11,790,368	8.1–16.7 million	245,241	59,102	2.69	75.7
2065	projection	11,965,524	8.2–17.1 million	245,904	60,438	2.67	75.9
2066	projection	12,137,946	8.2–17.5 million	246,468	61,859	2.64	76.0
2067	projection	12,311,342	8.3–18.0 million	247,313	63,244	2.62	76.2
2068	projection	12,484,352	8.3–18.4 million	248,006	64,712	2.60	76.3
2069	projection	12,654,370	8.4–18.8 million	248,505	66,153	2.58	76.5
2070	projection	12,824,439	8.4–19.3 million	249,174	67,719	2.56	76.7
2071	projection	12,992,461	8.5–19.8 million	249,644	69,222	2.54	76.8
2072	projection	13,161,188	8.5–20.2 million	250,063	70,803	2.52	77.0
2073	projection	13,327,120	8.5–20.7 million	250,550	72,416	2.50	77.1
2074	projection	13,491,238	8.6–21.2 million	251,170	74,050	2.49	77.3
2075	projection	13,653,795	8.6–21.7 million	250,839	75,719	2.46	77.4
2076	projection	13,815,708	8.6–22.2 million	250,895	77,445	2.44	77.6
2077	projection	13,975,973	8.6–22.6 million	250,803	79,176	2.42	77.7
2078	projection	14,135,004	8.7–23.2 million	250,784	80,936	2.41	77.9
2079	projection	14,292,039	8.7–23.8 million	250,551	82,719	2.39	78.0
2080	projection	14,444,963	8.7–24.4 million	250,599	84,501	2.37	78.2
2081	projection	14,596,619	8.7–24.8 million	250,538	86,312	2.36	78.3
2082	projection	14,747,410	8.7–25.3 million	250,422	88,158	2.34	78.5
2083	projection	14,895,287	8.7–25.9 million	250,208	90,039	2.33	78.7
2084	projection	15,042,649	8.7–26.4 million	250,449	91,963	2.31	78.8
2085	projection	15,186,815	8.7–26.9 million	250,446	93,951	2.30	78.9
2086	projection	15,328,428	8.8–27.7 million	250,646	95,922	2.29	79.1
2087	projection	15,468,956	8.8–28.3 million	250,506	97,970	2.28	79.2
2088	projection	15,608,162	8.8–28.8 million	250,342	100,061	2.27	79.4
2089	projection	15,743,940	8.8–29.3 million	250,171	102,030	2.25	79.5
2090	projection	15,876,683	8.7–29.9 million	249,824	104,094	2.24	79.7
2091	projection	16,006,893	8.7–30.6 million	249,319	106,151	2.23	79.8
2092	projection	16,135,382	8.7–31.1 million	248,887	108,210	2.22	80.0
2093	projection	16,260,090	8.7–31.7 million	248,295	110,294	2.21	80.1
2094	projection	16,383,015	8.7–32.6 million	247,718	112,421	2.19	80.3
2095	projection	16,503,264	8.7–33.3 million	247,107	114,482	2.18	80.4
2096	projection	16,619,612	8.8–33.9 million	246,727	116,512	2.17	80.6
2097	projection	16,735,967	8.7–34.6 million	246,438	118,595	2.16	80.7
2098	projection	16,849,109	8.7–35.4 million	245,984	120,630	2.15	80.9
2099	projection	16,960,181	8.7–36.1 million	245,436	122,774	2.14	81.0
2100	projection	17,065,958	8.7–36.8 million	245,091	124,829	2.13	81.2

Show the numbers: Mauritania, mid-2026, by single year of age

Mauritania: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	88,958	86,662
1	87,018	84,858
2	85,255	83,162
3	83,566	81,526
4	82,007	80,026
5	80,455	78,551
6	78,908	77,063
7	77,376	75,588
8	75,791	74,065
9	74,169	72,498
10	72,508	70,908
11	70,872	69,325
12	69,270	67,758
13	68,570	66,578
14	67,488	65,221
15	65,142	63,342
16	62,804	61,460
17	60,482	59,577
18	58,129	57,680
19	55,784	55,782
20	53,450	53,880
21	51,119	51,988
22	48,826	50,126
23	46,619	48,324
24	44,579	46,645
25	42,726	45,091
26	41,060	43,656
27	39,591	42,360
28	38,281	41,178
29	37,068	40,057
30	35,874	38,942
31	34,640	37,778
32	33,368	36,569
33	32,066	35,322
34	30,828	34,119
35	29,698	33,005
36	28,644	31,950
37	27,652	30,937
38	26,700	29,952
39	25,761	28,981
40	24,799	27,996
41	23,810	26,990
42	22,785	25,961
43	21,752	24,930
44	20,758	23,928
45	19,822	22,975
46	18,952	22,077
47	18,159	21,243
48	17,431	20,460
49	16,752	19,702
50	16,117	18,958
51	15,532	18,232
52	14,992	17,522
53	14,478	16,819
54	13,962	16,125
55	13,418	15,435
56	12,845	14,747
57	12,246	14,062
58	11,636	13,386
59	11,036	12,724
60	10,462	12,083
61	9,920	11,466
62	9,411	10,875
63	8,924	10,302
64	8,440	9,738
65	7,951	9,182
66	7,454	8,631
67	6,954	8,084
68	6,454	7,544
69	5,960	7,010
70	5,478	6,486
71	5,007	5,969
72	4,552	5,464
73	4,114	4,976
74	3,696	4,509
75	3,304	4,066
76	2,952	3,668
77	2,628	3,308
78	2,318	2,965
79	2,026	2,626
80	1,756	2,304
81	1,510	2,003
82	1,288	1,725
83	1,086	1,470
84	905	1,239
85	744	1,031
86	600	845
87	477	682
88	372	544
89	283	424
90	210	325
91	153	246
92	110	184
93	78	137
94	55	100
95	38	72
96	26	50
97	18	34
98	12	23
99	8	15
100+	11	21

MRT · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Mauritania, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

MRT · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Mauritania

In Mauritania the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 2,699,490 of them.

100 aged 15–64

80 children

6 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: one orange square for each of 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023. Beneath them, teal for the children living alongside those 100 and violet for the people aged 65 or older.

At no point between 1950 and 2100 do fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 here.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

MRT · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Mauritania, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Mauritania loses 186 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 172 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 20 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: each column is one age, youngest on the left. Above the line, in blue, are the ages gaining people; below it, in orange, the ages losing them. This is the UN's projection for 2020–2025 — the record of migration by age does not go back beyond 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 34,505 (1992); its biggest loss, 28,840 (1996).

In 2024, 195,937 people living in Mauritania had been born in another country, 4 of every 100 people there, against 6 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

MRT · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Mauritania

Of every 100 babies born in Mauritania in 2023, 16 had a mother under 20, 63 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 21 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 16 under 20 and 20 aged 35 or older.

1950
16 · 64 · 20

2023
16 · 63 · 21

2050 · projected
13 · 64 · 23

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: shrink a year's babies to 100 and colour each one by the age of its mother — that is a block. Under it, the same three groups as numbers, starting with the youngest mothers.

Babies born, 2023: 172,885
Average age when women have a baby: 30.2 years; 30.2 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 89; 113 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Mauritania by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	460	1,383	1,722	4,172	4,516	962
15–19	4,045	8,279	12,727	24,115	26,202	13,845
20–24	6,601	12,047	22,746	38,376	47,823	40,127
25–29	6,239	13,415	23,576	38,388	52,225	61,192
30–34	5,317	11,130	19,277	31,928	46,489	63,532
35–39	3,351	7,614	11,826	22,264	33,363	44,009
40–44	1,786	3,696	5,484	10,625	15,943	17,825
45–49	483	835	1,631	2,863	4,100	3,467
50–54	26	42	96	154	215	132
All babies	28,308	58,441	99,085	172,885	230,876	245,091

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

MRT · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Mauritania

In Mauritania, WHO puts the healthy years a newborn could expect in 2021 at 60.4 (95% range 59.6–61.3), out of 68.9 in all. The years in less than full health come to 8.5, below the world's 9.5: shorter lives leave fewer years in which to be ill.

Women

59.8 in full health, 9.6 not: 69.4 years

Men

61.1 in full health, 7.3 not: 68.4 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 59.8 healthy years of 69.4. Men: 61.1 of 68.4. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 61.6.

MRT · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Mauritania

At the end of 2025, Mauritania was hosting 308,868 people who had crossed a border into it, about 58 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad308,868
Mauritania nationals abroad72,344

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: one square stands for 10,000 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Mauritania living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 2,642 people asked for asylum in Mauritania for the first time; 4,875 people from Mauritania asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from Mauritania whose claims were decided that year, 18 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

MRT · of every 100 people

How people live in Mauritania

Of every 100 people in Mauritania in 2025, 38 lived in a city, 23 in a town or suburb and 39 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

47.8 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024). 54.2 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: one square for every hundredth person, coloured as the key shows. Because the rule behind the colours is the same everywhere, two countries' squares can be compared directly.

How the world's people live

MRT · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Mauritania went in school

Of every 100 adults in Mauritania in 2020, 62 never went to school and 10 finished upper secondary or went further.

62 never went to school 7 some primary 14 finished primary 7 finished lower secondary 5 finished upper secondary 5 studied after school

The young went further: 50.3 of every 100 women aged 25–29 never went to school, against 76.6 of every 100 aged 60–64 (men: 47.9 against 64.4).

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2090; those among them who finished upper secondary are still growing in 2100.

How to read this: the row is the adults (25 and over) shrunk to 100 people, coloured by how far each went in school, least schooling on the left. The Wittgenstein Centre's count, 2020.

How far the world's people went in school

MRT · cities · 2025

Cities in Mauritania

Mauritania had 6 cities in 2025, home to 2.0 million people. The largest, Nouakchott, holds 29 of every 100 people in Mauritania.

Nouakchott1,561,617
Nouadhibou179,362
Fassala105,382
Kiffa80,914
Kaédi59,221
Zouérat54,869

How to read this: one bar for each of the 6 largest cities, 2025, all on the same scale. "City" here means the built-up area the UN measures, not the boundary the city draws itself.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Mauritania are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.