If you lived in Mauritania instead of Equatorial Guinea, you would:

Health

live 4.8 years longer

In Equatorial Guinea, the average life expectancy is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.

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have 70.6% more doctors per person

Equatorial Guinea has 1.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 2.6 as of 2022.

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be 61.5% less likely to die by suicide

Equatorial Guinea has a suicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 25.5% more likely to be obese

In Equatorial Guinea, 19.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.

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see 50.5% less spent on your healthcare

Equatorial Guinea spends $609 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mauritania spends $302 as of 2023.

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have 13.0% less access to essential health services

Equatorial Guinea scores 46 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mauritania scores 40 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 37.3% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Equatorial Guinea, 50.7% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Mauritania, however, that number is 31.8% as of 2019.

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be 23.7% more likely to be unemployed

In Equatorial Guinea, 8.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mauritania, that number is 10.3% as of 2025.

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make 66.8% less money

Equatorial Guinea has a GDP per capita of $6,615 as of 2025, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $2,198 as of 2025.

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Life

be 36.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Equatorial Guinea, approximately 47.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Mauritania, on the other hand, 30.2 children do as of 2024.

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have 13.5% more children

In Equatorial Guinea, there are approximately 30.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 34.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 2.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Equatorial Guinea, approximately 174.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Mauritania, 381.0 women do as of 2023.

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Basic Needs

be 24.8% less likely to have access to electricity

In Equatorial Guinea, approximately 67% of people have electricity access (89% in urban areas, and 2% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 50% of people on average (94% in urban areas, and 1% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 27.7% less likely to have internet access

In Equatorial Guinea, approximately 63.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Mauritania, about 45.8% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 24.0% more on healthcare

Equatorial Guinea spends 3.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 2.5 times more coastline

Equatorial Guinea has a total of 296 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.

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Safety

be 18.8% less likely to die in a road accident

In Equatorial Guinea, road accidents kill 11.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Mauritania, they kill 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 9.5 times more home broadband

Equatorial Guinea has 0.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 0.9 as of 2024.

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live with 73.6 times more strain on fresh water

Equatorial Guinea withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Mauritania withdraws 13% as of 2022.

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Environment

emit 62.0% less CO2

Equatorial Guinea emits 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Mauritania emits 1.0 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

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 Equatorial Guinea? See an in-depth size comparison.

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