Nationality:
noun: Mauritanian(s)
adjective: Mauritanian

Ethnic groups:
black Moors (Haratines - Arab-speaking slaves, former slaves, and their descendants of African origin, enslaved by white Moors) 40%, white Moors (of Arab-Berber descent, known as Bidhan) 30%, black Africans (non-Arabic speaking, Halpulaar, Soninke, Wolof, and Bamara ethnic groups) 30%

Languages:
Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French
note: the spoken Arabic in Mauritania differs considerably from the modern standard Arabic used for official written purposes or in the media; the Mauritanian dialect, which incorporates many Berber words, is referred to as Hassaniya

Religions:
Muslim (official) 100%

Population:
3,596,702 (July 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 132
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.18% (male 707,528/female 701,681)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 19.9% (male 350,283/female 365,578)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 32.71% (male 544,670/female 631,891)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.55% (male 73,737/female 90,000)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.65% (male 55,736/female 75,598) (2015 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 76.1%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 70.5%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.7%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 17.7% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 20.1 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 19.2 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 21 years (2015 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]

Population growth rate:
2.23% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
31.34 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 144
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 59.9% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 3.54% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
NOUAKCHOTT (capital) 968,000 (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.82 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:
602 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 54.68 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 59.61 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 49.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2015 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 28

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.65 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 60.35 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 65.02 years (2015 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 189

Total fertility rate:
4 children born/woman (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
9.3% (2007)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
3.8% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 100
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.13 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
0.4 beds/1,000 population (2006)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 58.4% of population rural: 57.1% of population total: 57.9% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 41.6% of population rural: 42.9% of population total: 42.1% of population (2015 est.)

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 57.5% of population rural: 13.8% of population total: 40% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 42.5% of population rural: 86.2% of population total: 60% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.66% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 57
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
15,900 (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
1,100 (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 66
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies (2013)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
8.6% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 127
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
19.5% (2012)
country comparison to the world: 32
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
3.8% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 120
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 52.1%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 62.6%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 41.6% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 9 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 9 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 8 years (2013)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 127,251
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 16% (2007 est.)