Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Mauritania, you would:
Health
live 9.0 years longer
In Mauritania, the average life expectancy is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 78 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 53.4% less likely to be obese
In Mauritania, 24.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.
see 68.1% more spent on your healthcare
Mauritania spends $302 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sri Lanka spends $507 as of 2023.
have 4.4 times more doctors per person
Mauritania has 2.6 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sri Lanka has 11.4 as of 2023.
have 67.5% more access to essential health services
Mauritania scores 40 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sri Lanka scores 67 as of 2021.
be 5.4 times more likely to die by suicide
Mauritania has a suicide rate of 2.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 14.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 61.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Mauritania, 10.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.0% as of 2025.
be 55.0% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Mauritania, 31.8% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.
make 2.3 times more money
Mauritania has a GDP per capita of $2,198 as of 2025, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $5,002 as of 2025.
Life
be 95.3% less 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 Sri Lanka, 18.0 women do as of 2023.
be 38.4% more likely to be literate
In Mauritania, the literacy rate is 67.0% as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 92.7% as of 2024.
be 82.8% less 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 Sri Lanka, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2024.
have 70.3% fewer children
In Mauritania, there are approximately 34.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, there are 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 98.8% 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 Sri Lanka, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 19.2% more likely to have internet access
In Mauritania, approximately 45.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, about 54.6% do as of 2024.
be 16.7% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Mauritania, approximately 77% of people have access to drinking water (90% in urban areas, and 59% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 90% of people on average (98% in urban areas, and 88% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 76.0% less on education
Mauritania spends 7.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 15.2% less on healthcare
Mauritania spends 4.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 77.7% more coastline
Mauritania has a total of 754 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.
Safety
be 3.3 times more likely to be murdered
Mauritania has a homicide rate of 1.0 per 100,000 people as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.3 per 100,000 as of 2019.
be 21.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Mauritania, road accidents kill 9.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, they kill 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 8.9 times more home broadband
Mauritania has 0.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sri Lanka has 8.5 as of 2024.
live with 6.9 times more strain on fresh water
Mauritania withdraws 13% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sri Lanka withdraws 91% as of 2022.
Environment
be 40.3% less likely to die from air pollution
In Mauritania, air pollution causes 62.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, it causes 37.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Mauritania vs. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to Mauritania? See an in-depth size comparison.