If you lived in Mauritania instead of Guatemala, you would:

Health

be 40.1% less likely to be obese

In Guatemala, 21.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mauritania, that number is 12.7% of people as of 2016.

live 7.7 years less

In Guatemala, the average life expectancy is 73 years (71 years for men, 75 years for women) as of 2022. In Mauritania, that number is 65 years (63 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 47.7% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Guatemala, 59.3% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Mauritania, however, that number is 31.0% as of 2014.

make 40.5% less money

Guatemala has a GDP per capita of $8,400 as of 2020, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $5,000 as of 2020.

be 4.4 times more likely to be unemployed

In Guatemala, 2.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Mauritania, that number is 10.2% as of 2017.

pay a 5.7 times higher top tax rate

Guatemala has a top tax rate of 7.0% as of 2016. In Mauritania, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 25.6% more children

In Guatemala, there are approximately 22.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Mauritania, there are 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

be 8.1 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Guatemala, approximately 95.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Mauritania, 766.0 women do as of 2017.

be 33.8% less likely to be literate

In Guatemala, the literacy rate is 80.8% as of 2018. In Mauritania, it is 53.5% as of 2017.

be 94.8% more likely to die during infancy

In Guatemala, approximately 26.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Mauritania, on the other hand, 51.0 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 65.2% less likely to have access to electricity

In Guatemala, approximately 92% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 85% in rural areas) as of 2019. In Mauritania, that number is 32% of people on average (56% in urban areas, and 4% in rural areas) as of 2019.

be 18.0% less likely to have internet access

In Guatemala, approximately 50.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Mauritania, about 41.0% do as of 2020.

be 10.3% less likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Guatemala, approximately 95% of people have improved drinking water access (98% in urban areas, and 92% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Mauritania, that number is 85% of people on average (99% in urban areas, and 68% in rural areas) as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 42.4% less on education

Guatemala spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Mauritania spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 46.8% less on healthcare

Guatemala spends 6.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Mauritania, that number is 3.3% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 88.5% more coastline

Guatemala has a total of 400 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Superintendence of the Tax Administration.

Mauritania: At a glance

Mauritania is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 1,030,700 sq km. Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976 but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for more than two decades. A series of presidential elections that he held were widely seen as flawed. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ deposed him and installed a military council government. AZIZ was subsequently elected president in July 2009 and sworn in the following month. AZIZ sustained injuries from an accidental shooting by his own troops in October 2012 but has continued to maintain his authority. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among its black population (Afro-Mauritanians) and white and black Moor (Arab-Berber) communities, and confronts a terrorism threat by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Read more

How big is Mauritania compared to Guatemala? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Mauritania.or Guatemala It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.