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Mauritania
A vast, mostly desert West African nation bridging the Arab Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritania's territory is largely covered by the Sahara. The capital Nouakchott, one of the world's fastest-growing cities, was a small village when chosen as capital at independence in 1960. Mauritania was the last country to legally abolish slavery in 1981, and iron ore and fishing are key economic sectors.
Major cities: Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, Kiffa, Kaédi
2024
5.2M
UN
2050
9.4M
UN
2100
17.1M
UN
~2200
19.0M
GPU
~2500
5.0M
GPU
Population5.2M
Fertility (TFR)4.63
Life expectancy68.7
Median age17.1
Infant mortality31.0 per 1,000
Pop. density5/km²
Urbanization60%
Youth share (0-14)43%
Land area1,030,700 km²
LanguageHassaniya Arabic
ReligionMuslim
HDI0.563 (#163)
RegionAfrica
Latest available year is shown in parentheses where the source series varies across indicators. Governance metrics use World Bank percentile ranks; battle deaths and military spending are context variables, not direct fertility drivers.
UN WPP 2024 — verified data through 2100
| Year | Population | TFR | Life Exp. | CBR | CDR | Net Migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 658K | 5.79 | 38.4 | 43.0 | 23.3 | -0K | 2.0% |
| 1955 | 731K | 5.92 | 40.6 | 44.5 | 21.5 | -0K | 2.3% |
| 1960 | 824K | 6.15 | 43.6 | 46.2 | 20.0 | -0K | 2.6% |
| 1965 | 946K | 6.44 | 47.4 | 47.6 | 18.0 | -0K | 3.0% |
| 1970 | 1.10M | 6.68 | 50.5 | 47.3 | 16.0 | -1K | 3.1% |
| 1975 | 1.28M | 6.71 | 51.6 | 45.8 | 15.2 | -1K | 3.1% |
| 1980 | 1.47M | 6.67 | 53.2 | 44.5 | 14.0 | -3K | 3.1% |
| 1985 | 1.70M | 6.42 | 55.8 | 42.8 | 12.2 | -3K | 3.1% |
| 1990 | 1.95M | 6.17 | 58.1 | 41.4 | 10.7 | -3K | 3.1% |
| 1995 | 2.31M | 5.96 | 58.9 | 41.5 | 10.3 | -23K | 3.1% |
| 2000 | 2.61M | 5.46 | 61.0 | 37.9 | 8.9 | -3K | 2.9% |
| 2005 | 2.94M | 5.38 | 63.9 | 38.4 | 7.5 | -19K | 3.1% |
| 2010 | 3.39M | 5.38 | 65.7 | 38.9 | 7.1 | +1K | 3.2% |
| 2015 | 3.97M | 5.21 | 66.5 | 37.8 | 7.0 | -3K | 3.1% |
| 2020 | 4.60M | 4.91 | 66.8 | 35.7 | 6.4 | -1K | 2.9% |
| 2024Now | 5.17M | 4.63 | 68.7 | 34.0 | 5.4 | -2K | 2.9% |
| 2025 | 5.32M | 4.56 | 68.9 | 33.7 | 5.3 | -5K | 2.8% |
| 2030 | 6.06M | 4.24 | 70.0 | 31.7 | 5.0 | -8K | 2.7% |
| 2035 | 6.86M | 3.90 | 70.9 | 29.7 | 4.7 | -9K | 2.5% |
| 2040 | 7.68M | 3.60 | 71.8 | 27.8 | 4.6 | -10K | 2.3% |
| 2045 | 8.54M | 3.35 | 72.7 | 26.1 | 4.6 | -10K | 2.1% |
| 2050 | 9.42M | 3.14 | 73.5 | 24.5 | 4.6 | -12K | 2.0% |
| 2055 | 10.3M | 2.95 | 74.3 | 23.0 | 4.7 | -13K | 1.8% |
| 2060 | 11.2M | 2.80 | 75.1 | 21.6 | 4.8 | -13K | 1.7% |
| 2065 | 12.1M | 2.67 | 75.9 | 20.4 | 5.0 | -13K | 1.5% |
| 2070 | 12.9M | 2.56 | 76.7 | 19.3 | 5.2 | -13K | 1.4% |
| 2075 | 13.7M | 2.46 | 77.4 | 18.3 | 5.5 | -13K | 1.3% |
| 2080 | 14.5M | 2.37 | 78.2 | 17.3 | 5.8 | -14K | 1.1% |
| 2085 | 15.3M | 2.30 | 78.9 | 16.4 | 6.2 | -15K | 1.0% |
| 2090 | 15.9M | 2.24 | 79.7 | 15.7 | 6.5 | -16K | 0.9% |
| 2095 | 16.6M | 2.18 | 80.4 | 14.9 | 6.9 | -16K | 0.8% |
| 2100 | 17.1M | 2.14 | 81.2 | 14.3 | 7.3 | -15K | 0.7% |