Urban population growth in Mauritania
Mauritania: Urban population growth was 4.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Mauritania, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Mauritania stood at 4.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.3% on the previous year and down 21.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Mauritania peaked at 11.4% in 1966 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 1996.
Mauritania ranks 17th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.8% | 10.0% | 11.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.4% | 8.7% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.8% | 2.4% | 9.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.5% | 1.5% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 2.6% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.3% | 4.6% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.4% | 4.2% | 4.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
- 14 Central African Republic 4.3% compare
- 15 Somalia 4.3% compare
- 16 Burkina Faso 4.3% compare
- 18 Papua New Guinea 4.1% compare
- 19 Angola 4.1% compare
- 20 Democratic Republic of Congo 4.0% compare
More climate change data for Mauritania
- Population growth 2.8% (2025)
- Population, total 5.32 million (2025)
- Urban population 3.27 million (2025)
- Urban population 61.5% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 30.3% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1.35 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 337.1% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 0.6% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 1.0% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 3.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Mauritania?
- Urban population growth in Mauritania was 4.2% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 11.4% in 1966.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 1996.
- How does Mauritania rank for urban population growth?
- Mauritania ranks 17th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.