Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Mauritania

Mauritania: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 10.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
10.4%
Change on year
down 8.5%
World rank
39th
of 231 countries
All-time high
40.2%
in 2000
All-time low
10.4%
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Mauritania, 2000–2024

102030402000201220242000: 40.2 %2001: 38.9 %2002: 37.4 %2003: 35.9 %2004: 34.5 %2005: 33.1 %2006: 31.6 %2007: 30.3 %2008: 28.9 %2009: 27.5 %2010: 26.2 %2011: 24.9 %2012: 23.6 %2013: 22.4 %2014: 21.2 %2015: 20 %2016: 18.8 %2017: 17.7 %2018: 16.5 %2019: 15.5 %2020: 14.4 %2021: 13.4 %2022: 12.3 %2023: 11.4 %2024: 10.4 %

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

Analysis

In 2024, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Mauritania stood at 10.4%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 8.5% on the previous year and down 50.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Mauritania peaked at 40.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 10.4%, in 2024.

That places Mauritania 39th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 33.8% 27.5% 40.2% 10
2010s 20.7% 15.5% 26.2% 10
2020s 12.4% 10.4% 14.4% 5

Countries ranked near Mauritania

  1. 36 Eswatini 13.5% compare
  2. 37 Lesotho 12.6% compare
  3. 38 Liberia 12.5% compare
  4. 40 Micronesia (country) 10.1% compare
  5. 41 Poland 9.9% compare
  6. 42 Vanuatu 9.8% compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Mauritania

All data for Mauritania →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Mauritania?
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Mauritania was 10.4% 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 population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Mauritania?
The highest recorded value was 40.2% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Mauritania?
The lowest recorded value was 10.4% in 2024.
How does Mauritania rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
Mauritania ranks 39th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Mauritania?
Over the last ten years it is down 50.9%. 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 Share of population not using improved drinking water sources. 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 population not using improved drinking water sources
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
231 places, 5,586 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion 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.