Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Mauritania instead of Burkina Faso, you would:

Health

live 1.8 years longer

In Burkina Faso, the average life expectancy is 63 years (62 years for men, 65 years for women) as of 2022. In Mauritania, that number is 65 years (63 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2022.

be 2.3 times more likely to be obese

In Burkina Faso, 5.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mauritania, that number is 12.7% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 2.3 times more money

Burkina Faso has a GDP per capita of $2,200 as of 2020, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $5,000 as of 2020.

be 86.8% less likely to be unemployed

In Burkina Faso, 77.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2004. In Mauritania, that number is 10.2% as of 2017.

be 25.1% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Burkina Faso, 41.4% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Mauritania, however, that number is 31.0% as of 2014.

Life

be 36.1% more likely to be literate

In Burkina Faso, the literacy rate is 39.3% as of 2018. In Mauritania, it is 53.5% as of 2017.

be 2.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Burkina Faso, approximately 320.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Mauritania, 766.0 women do as of 2017.

have 16.4% fewer children

In Burkina Faso, there are approximately 33.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Mauritania, there are 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 45.5% more likely to have access to electricity

In Burkina Faso, approximately 22% of people have electricity access (69% in urban areas, and 2% 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 86.4% more likely to have internet access

In Burkina Faso, approximately 22.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Mauritania, about 41.0% do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 67.2% less on education

Burkina Faso spends 5.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Mauritania spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 40.0% less on healthcare

Burkina Faso spends 5.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Mauritania, that number is 3.3% of GDP as of 2019.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

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).
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How big is Mauritania compared to Burkina Faso? See an in-depth size comparison.

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