If you lived in Mauritania instead of Tonga, you would:

Health

be 67.4% less likely to be obese

In Tonga, 73.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 42.7% less likely to die by suicide

Tonga has a suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

live 4.4 years less

In Tonga, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 41.1% less spent on your healthcare

Tonga spends $512 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mauritania spends $302 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 74.3% fewer doctors per person

Tonga has 10.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Mauritania has 2.6 as of 2022.

View global rankings →

have 29.8% less access to essential health services

Tonga scores 57 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mauritania scores 40 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 5.1 times more likely to be unemployed

In Tonga, 2.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mauritania, that number is 10.3% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

be 54.4% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Tonga, 20.6% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Mauritania, however, that number is 31.8% as of 2019.

View global rankings →

make 66.4% less money

Tonga has a GDP per capita of $6,547 as of 2025, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $2,198 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 47.7% more children

In Tonga, there are approximately 23.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 34.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 5.7 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Tonga, approximately 67.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Mauritania, 381.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 32.6% less likely to be literate

In Tonga, the literacy rate is 99.5% as of 2023. In Mauritania, it is 67.0% as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 3.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Tonga, approximately 7.8 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.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 49.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In Tonga, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% 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.

View global rankings →

be 32.1% less likely to have internet access

In Tonga, approximately 67.4% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Mauritania, about 45.8% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 21.8% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Tonga, approximately 99% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 99% 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.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 41.0% less on healthcare

Tonga spends 7.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

spend 43.3% more on education

Tonga spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Mauritania spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 80.0% more coastline

Tonga has a total of 419 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 11.8% more likely to die in a road accident

In Tonga, road accidents kill 8.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Mauritania, they kill 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 88.4% less home broadband

Tonga has 8.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 0.9 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 40.5% less CO2

Tonga emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Mauritania emits 1.0 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 2.6 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Tonga, air pollution causes 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Mauritania, it causes 62.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Mauritania: At a glance

Mauritania is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 1,030,700 sq km. Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western Sahara) in 1976 but relinquished it after three years of raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled Mauritania with a heavy hand for more than two decades. A series of presidential elections that he held were widely seen as flawed. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President TAYA and ushered in a military council that oversaw a transition to democratic rule. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI was inaugurated in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008 when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ deposed him and installed a military council government. AZIZ was subsequently elected president in July 2009 and sworn in the following month. AZIZ sustained injuries from an accidental shooting by his own troops in October 2012 but has continued to maintain his authority. The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among its black population (Afro-Mauritanians) and white and black Moor (Arab-Berber) communities, and confronts a terrorism threat by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Read more

How big is Mauritania compared to Tonga? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Mauritania or Tonga. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.