Compare
Mauritania vs Western Sahara
How Mauritania and Western Sahara compare on 10 measures, from 1950 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Western Sahara was higher: 71.4 years against 68.5 years
- Population · In 2023, Mauritania was higher: 5.02 million people against 579,700 people
- Life expectancyMauritania: 68.5 years in 2023Western Sahara: 71.4 years in 2023
- PopulationMauritania: 5.02 million people in 2023Western Sahara: 579,700 people in 2023
- Infant mortalityMauritania: 30.8 per 1,000 live births in 2023Western Sahara: 23.8 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Population growthMauritania: 2.95% a year in 2023Western Sahara: 1.88% a year in 2023
Every measure
Health
People
- PopulationMauritania: 5.02 million people in 2023Western Sahara: 579,700 people in 2023
- Population growthMauritania: 2.95% a year in 2023Western Sahara: 1.88% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateMauritania: 4.7 births per woman in 2023Western Sahara: 2.16 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationMauritania: 61.5% in 2025Western Sahara: 86.9% in 2025
- Median ageMauritania: 17.1 years in 2023Western Sahara: 32 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overMauritania: 3.2% in 2023Western Sahara: 6.3% in 2023
- Net migration rateMauritania: 0.6 per 1,000 people in 2023Western Sahara: 9.7 per 1,000 people in 2023
Conflict
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN and UCDP. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time