Drinking water services in Mauritania
Mauritania: Drinking water services was 5,968 people in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Drinking water services in Mauritania, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for drinking water services in Mauritania is 5,968 people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 57.3% on the previous year and down 92.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in Mauritania peaked at 161,965 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5,968 people, in 2024.
Mauritania ranks 95th of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Drinking water services in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 161,965 people | — |
| 2001 | 157,945 people | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 152,599 people | -3.4% |
| 2003 | 147,188 people | -3.5% |
| 2004 | 141,676 people | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 136,075 people | -4.0% |
| 2006 | 130,381 people | -4.2% |
| 2007 | 124,591 people | -4.4% |
| 2008 | 118,900 people | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 113,245 people | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 107,364 people | -5.2% |
| 2011 | 101,232 people | -5.7% |
| 2012 | 94,802 people | -6.4% |
| 2013 | 87,937 people | -7.2% |
| 2014 | 80,674 people | -8.3% |
| 2015 | 73,122 people | -9.4% |
| 2016 | 65,276 people | -10.7% |
| 2017 | 58,324 people | -10.7% |
| 2018 | 51,373 people | -11.9% |
| 2019 | 44,241 people | -13.9% |
| 2020 | 36,927 people | -16.5% |
| 2021 | 29,435 people | -20.3% |
| 2022 | 21,789 people | -26.0% |
| 2023 | 13,972 people | -35.9% |
| 2024 | 5,968 people | -57.3% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 5,968 people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 261,824 people, 2% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 5,968 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 511,332 people, 1% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Drinking water services in Mauritania changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | -57.3% | 13,972 people | 5,968 people |
| 2023 | -35.9% | 21,789 people | 13,972 people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 138,456 people | 113,245 people | 161,965 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 76,435 people | 44,241 people | 107,364 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 21,618 people | 5,968 people | 36,927 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
More environment data for Mauritania
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.465 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.85 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.4893 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.0349 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in Mauritania?
- Drinking water services in Mauritania was 5,968 people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drinking water services recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 161,965 people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 5,968 people in 2024.
- How does Mauritania rank for drinking water services?
- Mauritania ranks 95th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 92.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Drinking water services. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.