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

Health

live 6.4 years longer

In Liberia, the average life expectancy is 62 years (61 years for men, 64 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 29.5% more spent on your healthcare

Liberia spends $233 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mauritania spends $302 as of 2023.

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have 46.6% more doctors per person

Liberia has 1.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 2.6 as of 2022.

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be 54.6% less likely to die by suicide

Liberia has a suicide rate of 6.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 35.5% more likely to be obese

In Liberia, 17.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.

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have 11.1% less access to essential health services

Liberia scores 45 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mauritania scores 40 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 37.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Liberia, 50.9% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Mauritania, however, that number is 31.8% as of 2019.

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make 2.4 times more money

Liberia has a GDP per capita of $915 as of 2025, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $2,198 as of 2025.

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be 3.6 times more likely to be unemployed

In Liberia, 2.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mauritania, that number is 10.3% as of 2025.

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Life

be 39.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In Liberia, approximately 628.0 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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be 52.2% less likely to die during infancy

In Liberia, approximately 63.2 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 11.3% more children

In Liberia, there are approximately 30.6 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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Basic Needs

be 54.8% more likely to have access to electricity

In Liberia, approximately 32% of people have electricity access (53% in urban areas, and 9% 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 42.0% more likely to have internet access

In Liberia, approximately 32.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Mauritania, about 45.8% do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 66.6% less on healthcare

Liberia spends 13.0% 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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spend 3.4 times more on education

Liberia spends 2.3% 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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Geography

see 30.2% more coastline

Liberia has a total of 579 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.

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Safety

be 37.9% less likely to die in a road accident

In Liberia, road accidents kill 15.3 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 3.5 times more home broadband

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

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live with 51.0 times more strain on fresh water

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

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Environment

emit 6.5 times more CO2

Liberia emits 0.1 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 (2016–2025), 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 Liberia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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