Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Lesotho instead of Mauritania, you would:
Health
be 70.3 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Mauritania, 0.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Lesotho, that number is 21.1% of people as of 2020.
live 5.6 years less
In Mauritania, the average life expectancy is 65 years (63 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2022. In Lesotho, that number is 60 years (58 years for men, 62 years for women) as of 2022.
be 30.7% more likely to be obese
In Mauritania, 12.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Lesotho, that number is 16.6% of people as of 2016.
Economy
pay a 25.0% lower top tax rate
Mauritania has a top tax rate of 40.0% as of 2016. In Lesotho, the top tax rate is 30.0% as of 2016.
make 54.0% less money
Mauritania has a GDP per capita of $5,000 as of 2020, while in Lesotho, the GDP per capita is $2,300 as of 2020.
be 2.8 times more likely to be unemployed
In Mauritania, 10.2% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Lesotho, that number is 28.1% as of 2014.
be 60.3% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Mauritania, 31.0% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Lesotho, however, that number is 49.7% as of 2017.
Life
be 29.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Mauritania, approximately 766.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Lesotho, 544.0 women do as of 2017.
be 48.4% more likely to be literate
In Mauritania, the literacy rate is 53.5% as of 2017. In Lesotho, it is 79.4% as of 2015.
have 17.5% fewer children
In Mauritania, there are approximately 28.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Lesotho, there are 23.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 12.5% more likely to have access to electricity
In Mauritania, approximately 32% of people have electricity access (56% in urban areas, and 4% in rural areas) as of 2019. In Lesotho, that number is 36% of people on average (63% in urban areas, and 26% in rural areas) as of 2019.
Expenditures
spend 3.9 times more on education
Mauritania spends 1.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Lesotho spends 7.4% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 3.4 times more on healthcare
Mauritania spends 3.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Lesotho, that number is 11.3% of GDP as of 2019.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance.
Lesotho: At a glance
How big is Lesotho compared to Mauritania? See an in-depth size comparison.