Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 90.0% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Gabon, 3.0% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Mauritania, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2020.

be 15.3% less likely to be obese

In Gabon, 15.0% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mauritania, that number is 12.7% of people as of 2016.

live 4.5 years less

In Gabon, the average life expectancy is 70 years (68 years for men, 71 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 63.6% less likely to be unemployed

In Gabon, 28.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2015. In Mauritania, that number is 10.2% as of 2017.

make 65.3% less money

Gabon has a GDP per capita of $14,400 as of 2020, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $5,000 as of 2020.

pay a 14.3% higher top tax rate

Gabon has a top tax rate of 35.0% as of 2016. In Mauritania, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 3.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Gabon, approximately 252.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Mauritania, 766.0 women do as of 2017.

be 36.8% less likely to be literate

In Gabon, the literacy rate is 84.7% as of 2018. In Mauritania, it is 53.5% as of 2017.

be 78.5% more likely to die during infancy

In Gabon, approximately 28.6 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 Gabon, approximately 92% of people have electricity access (99% in urban areas, and 39% 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 33.9% less likely to have internet access

In Gabon, approximately 62.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Mauritania, about 41.0% do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 32.1% less on education

Gabon spends 2.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Mauritania spends 1.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 17.9% more on healthcare

Gabon spends 2.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Mauritania, that number is 3.3% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 14.8% less coastline

Gabon has a total of 885 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, General Direction of Taxes, Ministry of Finance.

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 Gabon? See an in-depth size comparison.

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