Mauritania Population
Mauritania had an estimated population of 5,315,065 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 125th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.06% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.78% a year.
Mauritania at a glance
How Mauritania's population is changing
Mauritania's population is growing fast: +2.78% a year, which works out to about +147,703 people per year, or +404 a day. Births (34.0 per 1,000) and deaths (5.4 per 1,000) alone would give +2.86% a year; net migration removes about 5,044 people a year (−0.09%). Roughly one in every 1,546 people on Earth lives in Mauritania.
Population of Mauritania since 1960
In 1960, Mauritania had 824,298 people. By 2025 that was 5,315,065 — 6.4× larger. The fastest growth came between 2008 and 2018, when the population rose by 36%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 824,298 | — |
| 1970 | 1,099,806 | +33.4% |
| 1980 | 1,474,043 | +34.0% |
| 1990 | 1,951,878 | +32.4% |
| 2000 | 2,613,441 | +33.9% |
| 2010 | 3,390,965 | +29.8% |
| 2020 | 4,600,131 | +35.7% |
| 2025 | 5,315,065 | +15.5% |
Mauritania from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Mauritania at about 382,696 people in 1800; the UN estimates 5,315,072 in 2025 (14× 1800) and projects 17,118,471 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 222% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 382,696 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 290,798 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 359,492 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 657,722 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 2,613,450 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 5,315,072 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 9,415,604 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 13,734,755 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 17,118,471 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Mauritania
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 5,315,065. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nouakchott | 1,561,617 | UN urban centre | 29.38% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Nouadhibou | 179,362 | UN urban centre | 3.37% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Kiffa | 80,914 | UN urban centre | 1.52% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Dar Naim | 61,089 | GeoNames settlement | 1.15% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 5 | Néma | 60,000 | GeoNames settlement | 1.13% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 6 | Kaédi | 59,221 | UN urban centre | 1.11% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Mbera | 58,985 | GeoNames settlement | 1.11% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Ksar | 57,758 | GeoNames settlement | 1.09% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Zouérat | 54,869 | UN urban centre | 1.03% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Tevragh Zeina | 48,093 | GeoNames settlement | 0.90% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Mauritania compares
Mauritania has almost the same population as New Zealand (5,324,700).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Mauritania | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #123 |  Palestine | 5,413,596 | +2% | compare → |
| #124 |  New Zealand | 5,324,700 | +0% | compare → |
| #126 |  Costa Rica | 5,152,950 | −3% | compare → |
| #127 |  Kuwait | 4,865,298 | −8% | compare → |
Compare Mauritania with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Mauritania
Land neighbours (3)
Algeria 47,435,312 · 8.9× the population · compare
Mali 25,198,821 · 4.7× the population · compare
Senegal 18,931,966 · 3.6× the population · compare
Mauritania's 3 neighbours together hold 91,566,099 people — 17.2× Mauritania's population. The most populous is Algeria (47,435,312).
In its region
Mauritania is the 34th most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 0.4% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings featuring Mauritania
- Fastest-growing countries #18
- Highest birth rates #13
- Highest fertility rates #11
- Youngest populations (share aged 0–14) #12
- Least densely populated countries #11
Cities
Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, Kiffa, Dar Naim, Néma, Kaédi, Mbera, Ksar — all Mauritania's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Mauritania when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.