Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Mauritania instead of Namibia, you would:
Health
be 98.9% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Namibia, 9.0% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 1.2 years longer
In Namibia, the average life expectancy is 68 years (63 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
be 68.5% less likely to die by suicide
Namibia has a suicide rate of 8.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 31.9% more likely to be obese
In Namibia, 18.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.
see 71.8% less spent on your healthcare
Namibia spends $1,068 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mauritania spends $302 as of 2023.
have 52.8% fewer doctors per person
Namibia has 5.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 2.6 as of 2022.
have 36.5% less access to essential health services
Namibia scores 63 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mauritania scores 40 as of 2021.
Economy
be 46.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Namibia, 19.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mauritania, that number is 10.3% as of 2025.
make 54.9% less money
Namibia has a GDP per capita of $4,876 as of 2025, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $2,198 as of 2025.
Life
be 17.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Namibia, approximately 36.4 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 31.4% more children
In Namibia, there are approximately 25.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 34.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.7 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Namibia, approximately 139.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Mauritania, 381.0 women do as of 2023.
be 23.6% less likely to be literate
In Namibia, the literacy rate is 87.6% as of 2023. In Mauritania, it is 67.0% as of 2021.
Basic Needs
be 11.3% less likely to have access to electricity
In Namibia, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (75% in urban areas, and 34% 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 29.4% less likely to have internet access
In Namibia, approximately 64.9% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Mauritania, about 45.8% do as of 2024.
be 10.7% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Namibia, approximately 87% of people have access to drinking water (96% in urban areas, and 74% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 77% of people on average (90% in urban areas, and 59% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.2% less on education
Namibia spends 9.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Mauritania spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 54.2% less on healthcare
Namibia spends 9.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 52.0% less coastline
Namibia has a total of 1,572 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.
Safety
be 91.1% less likely to be murdered
Namibia has a homicide rate of 11.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, that number is 1.0 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 56.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Namibia, road accidents kill 22.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Mauritania, they kill 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 66.4% less home broadband
Namibia has 2.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Mauritania has 0.9 as of 2024.
live with 42.7 times more strain on fresh water
Namibia withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Mauritania withdraws 13% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 19.2% less CO2
Namibia emits 1.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Mauritania emits 1.0 tonnes as of 2024.
be 44.2% more likely to die from air pollution
In Namibia, air pollution causes 43.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Mauritania, it causes 62.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Namibia vs. Mauritania
Mauritania: At a glance
How big is Mauritania compared to Namibia? See an in-depth size comparison.