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

Health

be 93.8% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Haiti, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.

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live 3.6 years longer

In Haiti, the average life expectancy is 65 years (62 years for men, 68 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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see 2.9 times more spent on your healthcare

Haiti spends $105 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mauritania spends $302 as of 2023.

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be 65.3% less likely to die by suicide

Haiti has a suicide rate of 7.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 2.2 times more likely to be obese

In Haiti, 11.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.

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have 10.6% fewer doctors per person

Haiti has 2.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 2.6 as of 2022.

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have 25.9% less access to essential health services

Haiti scores 54 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mauritania scores 40 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 30.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Haiti, 14.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mauritania, that number is 10.3% as of 2025.

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make 18.4% less money

Haiti has a GDP per capita of $2,694 as of 2025, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $2,198 as of 2025.

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Life

be 22.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Haiti, approximately 39.0 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 55.1% more children

In Haiti, there are approximately 21.9 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 16.2% more likely to die during childbirth

In Haiti, approximately 328.0 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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Expenditures

spend 7.9 times more on education

Haiti spends 1.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Mauritania spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

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spend 36.1% more on healthcare

Haiti spends 3.2% 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 57.4% less coastline

Haiti has a total of 1,771 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.

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Safety

be 97.6% less likely to be murdered

Haiti has a homicide rate of 41.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 1.0 per 100,000 as of 2020.

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be 69.6% less likely to die in a road accident

In Haiti, road accidents kill 31.3 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 3.1 times more home broadband

Haiti has 0.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 0.9 as of 2024.

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Environment

be 24.0% more likely to die from air pollution

In Haiti, air pollution causes 50.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Mauritania, it causes 62.0 as of 2019.

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emit 3.2 times more CO2

Haiti emits 0.3 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 (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), 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 Haiti? See an in-depth size comparison.

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