People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Mauritania

Mauritania: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 508,969 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
508,969 people
Change on year
down 5.1%
World rank
63rd
of 178 countries
All-time high
987,481 people
in 2000
All-time low
508,969 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Mauritania, 2000–2024

0200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k1.0M2000201220242000: 987.5k people2001: 978.0k people2002: 960.0k people2003: 942.1k people2004: 924.1k people2005: 906.1k people2006: 888.1k people2007: 870.3k people2008: 854.0k people2009: 839.0k people2010: 823.7k people2011: 807.8k people2012: 791.2k people2013: 772.6k people2014: 752.3k people2015: 731.3k people2016: 709.6k people2017: 687.1k people2018: 663.8k people2019: 639.8k people2020: 614.9k people2021: 589.2k people2022: 563.1k people2023: 536.6k people2024: 509.0k people

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

Analysis

Mauritania recorded 508,969 people for people in rural areas not using an improved water source in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 5.1% on the previous year and down 32.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Mauritania peaked at 987,481 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 508,969 people, in 2024.

Mauritania ranks 63rd of 178 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 914,914 people 839,033 people 987,481 people 10
2010s 737,917 people 639,795 people 823,685 people 10
2020s 562,559 people 508,969 people 614,919 people 5

Countries ranked near Mauritania

  1. 60 Mexico 600,167 people compare
  2. 61 Liberia 596,153 people compare
  3. 62 Nepal 543,050 people compare
  4. 64 Guinea-Bissau 422,890 people compare
  5. 65 Uzbekistan 399,896 people compare
  6. 66 Honduras 348,812 people compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Mauritania

All data for Mauritania →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Mauritania?
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Mauritania was 508,969 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 people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Mauritania?
The highest recorded value was 987,481 people in 2000.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Mauritania?
The lowest recorded value was 508,969 people in 2024.
How does Mauritania rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
Mauritania ranks 63rd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Mauritania?
Over the last ten years it is down 32.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
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 People in rural areas not using an improved water source. 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
People in rural areas not using an improved water source
Unit
people
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

Number of people not using improved drinking water sources. These people might use surface water sources or unprotected springs or wells, as no safe and reliable improved drinking water source is available to them.