Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Mauritania

Mauritania: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 58.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
58.8%
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
152nd
of 178 countries
All-time high
58.8%
in 2024
All-time low
26.2%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Mauritania, 2000–2024

02040602000201220242000: 26.2 %2001: 27.3 %2002: 28.5 %2003: 29.7 %2004: 31 %2005: 32.3 %2006: 33.6 %2007: 34.9 %2008: 36.2 %2009: 37.5 %2010: 38.9 %2011: 40.2 %2012: 41.6 %2013: 43 %2014: 44.4 %2015: 45.8 %2016: 47.2 %2017: 48.7 %2018: 50.1 %2019: 51.6 %2020: 53.1 %2021: 54.6 %2022: 56.1 %2023: 57.6 %2024: 58.8 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Mauritania recorded 58.8% for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 32.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Mauritania peaked at 58.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 26.2%, in 2000.

That places Mauritania 152nd out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 31.7% 26.2% 37.5% 10
2010s 45.2% 38.9% 51.6% 10
2020s 56.0% 53.1% 58.8% 5

Countries ranked near Mauritania

  1. 149 Guinea 62.2% compare
  2. 150 Burundi 61.4% compare
  3. 151 Sudan 59.6% compare
  4. 153 Zambia 58.5% compare
  5. 154 Togo 57.5% compare
  6. 155 Sierra Leone 57.0% compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Mauritania

All data for Mauritania →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Mauritania?
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Mauritania was 58.8% 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 share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Mauritania?
The highest recorded value was 58.8% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Mauritania?
The lowest recorded value was 26.2% in 2000.
How does Mauritania rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
Mauritania ranks 152nd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services rising or falling in Mauritania?
Over the last ten years it is up 32.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
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 Share of the rural population using at least a basic 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

Indicator
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 4,351 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people who use an improved drinking water source, which is either located on their premises, or at a collection point, which takes no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.