Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nigeria instead of Mauritania, you would:
Health
be 43.3% less likely to be obese
In Mauritania, 24.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 13.7% of people as of 2024.
have 45.6% more doctors per person
Mauritania has 2.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Nigeria has 3.8 as of 2023.
be 12.0 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Mauritania, 0.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 1.2% of people as of 2024.
live 14.1 years less
In Mauritania, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024. In Nigeria, that number is 55 years (54 years for men, 55 years for women) as of 2024.
see 13.8% less spent on your healthcare
Mauritania spends $302 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nigeria spends $260 as of 2023.
be 84.1% more likely to die by suicide
Mauritania has a suicide rate of 2.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Nigeria, it is 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 70.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Mauritania, 10.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nigeria, that number is 3.1% as of 2025.
be 76.7% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Mauritania, 31.8% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Nigeria, however, that number is 56.2% as of 2022.
make 44.3% less money
Mauritania has a GDP per capita of $2,198 as of 2025, while in Nigeria, the GDP per capita is $1,224 as of 2025.
Life
be 2.6 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Mauritania, approximately 381.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Nigeria, 993.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy
In Mauritania, approximately 30.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Nigeria, on the other hand, 69.8 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 21.7% more likely to have access to electricity
In Mauritania, approximately 50% of people have electricity access (94% in urban areas, and 1% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Nigeria, that number is 61% of people on average (85% in urban areas, and 33% in rural areas) as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 95.8% less on education
Mauritania spends 7.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Nigeria spends 0.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 13.1% more coastline
Mauritania has a total of 754 km of coastline. In Nigeria, that number is 853 km.
Safety
be 15.8 times more likely to be murdered
Mauritania has a homicide rate of 1.0 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Nigeria, that number is 15.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 81.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Mauritania, road accidents kill 9.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nigeria, they kill 17.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 27.0% less strain on fresh water
Mauritania withdraws 13% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Nigeria withdraws 10% as of 2022.
find 91.6% less home broadband
Mauritania has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Nigeria has 0.1 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 41.2% less CO2
Mauritania emits 1.0 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nigeria emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 24.2% more likely to die from air pollution
In Mauritania, air pollution causes 62.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Nigeria, it causes 77.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Mauritania vs. Nigeria
Nigeria: At a glance
How big is Nigeria compared to Mauritania? See an in-depth size comparison.