Country explorer: Mauritania

Mauritania has experienced gradual improvements in its economic indicators, including a positive trend in GDP per capita and a reduction in poverty across various thresholds, although it faces persistent challenges like high unemployment rates and fluctuating inflation, reflecting a mixed journey towards economic stability that aligns with trends observed in other lower-middle-income countries.

Mauritania has experienced significant population growth from approximately 2.7 million in 2000 to 4.6 million in 2022, a fertility rate decrease from 5.5 to 4.4 children per woman, fluctuating net migration rates signifying variable migration patterns, and an improvement in life expectancy from 61.0 years to 64.4 years, indicating progress in health and living standards along with demographic shifts comparable to lower-middle-income country trends.

Mauritania has made modest improvements in increasing access to clean fuels for cooking and electricity, yet it lags significantly behind its lower-middle-income peers in these basic needs, underlining both its progress and ongoing challenges in infrastructure development.

Mauritania has experienced incremental improvements in human development indicators, including a gradual increase in the Human Development Index, a decrease in child mortality rates, significant strides in literacy rates, and an increase in average learning-adjusted years of schooling, reflecting a slow but steady advancement in societal well-being, despite these growth rates lagging behind some of its lower-middle-income peers.

Mauritania has experienced significant but gradual reductions in carbon emissions per capita, an increase in renewable energy sources, notably solar and wind, and faced challenges in managing its scarce renewable freshwater resources and declining forest area, distinguishing it by its emphasis on expanding renewable energy within a context of environmental vulnerability.

Mauritania has made strides in enhancing digital connectivity and mobile phone access among its population, signaling a gradual yet significant adoption of technology in line with many lower-middle-income countries, despite trailing in research & development spending and scientific output.

Mauritania has experienced steady improvements in gender equality and life satisfaction, despite a high age dependency ratio and a modest increase in the proportion of foreign-born residents, reflecting gradual societal shifts towards inclusivity and well-being similar to trends in lower-middle-income countries.

Mauritania has experienced fluctuating but generally improving governance indicators, evidencing a complex and partial progression towards better rule of law, a reduction in corruption perception, somewhat improved civil liberties, and a cautiously more open press environment, albeit from low bases and with ongoing challenges, reflective of broader struggles and incremental advances seen in many lower-middle-income countries.