Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Mauritania instead of Panama, you would:
Health
be 90.9% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Panama, 1.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
be 36.1% less likely to be obese
In Panama, 37.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.
be 17.6% less likely to die by suicide
Panama has a suicide rate of 3.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 11.1 years less
In Panama, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
see 90.9% less spent on your healthcare
Panama spends $3,318 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mauritania spends $302 as of 2023.
have 83.9% fewer doctors per person
Panama has 16.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 2.6 as of 2022.
have 48.7% less access to essential health services
Panama scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mauritania scores 40 as of 2021.
Economy
be 23.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Panama, 8.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mauritania, that number is 10.3% as of 2025.
make 88.9% less money
Panama has a GDP per capita of $19,790 as of 2025, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $2,198 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.1 times more children
In Panama, there are approximately 15.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 34.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 10.3 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Panama, approximately 37.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Mauritania, 381.0 women do as of 2023.
be 30.4% less likely to be literate
In Panama, the literacy rate is 96.2% as of 2024. In Mauritania, it is 67.0% as of 2021.
be 2.5 times more likely to die during infancy
In Panama, approximately 12.0 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.
Basic Needs
be 48.1% less likely to have access to electricity
In Panama, approximately 97% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 91% 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 37.1% less likely to have internet access
In Panama, approximately 72.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Mauritania, about 45.8% do as of 2024.
be 18.9% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Panama, approximately 95% of people have access to drinking water (98% in urban areas, and 88% 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 47.9% less on healthcare
Panama spends 8.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 3.1 times more on education
Panama spends 2.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Mauritania spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 69.7% less coastline
Panama has a total of 2,490 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.
Safety
be 91.5% less likely to be murdered
Panama has a homicide rate of 11.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 1.0 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 30.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Panama, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Mauritania, they kill 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 94.8% less home broadband
Panama has 18.1 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Mauritania has 0.9 as of 2024.
live with 14.7 times more strain on fresh water
Panama withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Mauritania withdraws 13% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 64.6% less CO2
Panama emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Mauritania emits 1.0 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Panama, air pollution causes 17.0 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: Panama vs. Mauritania
Mauritania: At a glance
How big is Mauritania compared to Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.