Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Mauritania instead of Lesotho, you would:
Health
be 99.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Lesotho, 17.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 10.9 years longer
In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 58 years (55 years for men, 60 years for women) as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
have 11.1% more doctors per person
Lesotho has 2.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 2.6 as of 2022.
be 90.5% less likely to die by suicide
Lesotho has a suicide rate of 28.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 21.8% less spent on your healthcare
Lesotho spends $386 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mauritania spends $302 as of 2023.
have 24.5% less access to essential health services
Lesotho scores 53 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mauritania scores 40 as of 2021.
Economy
be 36.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Lesotho, 16.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mauritania, that number is 10.3% as of 2025.
be 36.0% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Lesotho, 49.7% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Mauritania, however, that number is 31.8% as of 2019.
make 2.0 times more money
Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $1,089 as of 2025, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $2,198 as of 2025.
Life
be 20.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Lesotho, approximately 478.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Mauritania, 381.0 women do as of 2023.
be 46.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Lesotho, approximately 56.3 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.
have 43.2% more children
In Lesotho, there are approximately 23.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 34.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 25.9% less likely to be literate
In Lesotho, the literacy rate is 90.5% as of 2024. In Mauritania, it is 67.0% as of 2021.
Basic Needs
be 12.2% less likely to have access to electricity
In Lesotho, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 45% 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.
be 11.6% less likely to have internet access
In Lesotho, approximately 51.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Mauritania, about 45.8% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 65.6% less on healthcare
Lesotho spends 12.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 15.0% more on education
Lesotho spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Mauritania spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Safety
be 56.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Lesotho, road accidents kill 21.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Mauritania, they kill 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 2.5 times more home broadband
Lesotho has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Mauritania has 0.9 as of 2024.
live with 5.2 times more strain on fresh water
Lesotho withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Mauritania withdraws 13% as of 2022.
Environment
be 38.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Lesotho, air pollution causes 100.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Mauritania, it causes 62.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.3 times more CO2
Lesotho emits 0.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Mauritania emits 1.0 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Lesotho vs. Mauritania
Mauritania: At a glance
How big is Mauritania compared to Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.