Urban population growth (annual %) in Mauritania
Mauritania: Urban population growth (annual %) 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 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 11.2% | — |
| 1962 | 10.8% | -3.3% |
| 1963 | 10.4% | -4.3% |
| 1964 | 10.0% | -3.9% |
| 1965 | 11.1% | +11.7% |
| 1966 | 11.4% | +2.3% |
| 1967 | 11.1% | -2.4% |
| 1968 | 10.8% | -2.5% |
| 1969 | 10.6% | -2.6% |
| 1970 | 10.3% | -2.7% |
| 1971 | 10.0% | -2.8% |
| 1972 | 9.7% | -2.9% |
| 1973 | 9.4% | -2.8% |
| 1974 | 9.2% | -2.7% |
| 1975 | 8.9% | -2.8% |
| 1976 | 8.7% | -2.7% |
| 1977 | 8.7% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 9.2% | +6.0% |
| 1979 | 9.8% | +6.2% |
| 1980 | 9.9% | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 9.6% | -2.3% |
| 1982 | 9.2% | -4.9% |
| 1983 | 8.5% | -7.2% |
| 1984 | 7.7% | -9.4% |
| 1985 | 6.8% | -11.9% |
| 1986 | 5.7% | -15.4% |
| 1987 | 4.6% | -20.3% |
| 1988 | 3.3% | -27.9% |
| 1989 | 2.4% | -26.8% |
| 1990 | 2.3% | -4.1% |
| 1991 | 2.6% | +12.6% |
| 1992 | 3.4% | +31.9% |
| 1993 | 3.6% | +4.9% |
| 1994 | 2.9% | -18.7% |
| 1995 | 2.3% | -22.4% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | -32.8% |
| 1997 | 1.8% | +19.4% |
| 1998 | 2.3% | +24.0% |
| 1999 | 2.4% | +7.8% |
| 2000 | 2.7% | +9.6% |
| 2001 | 2.6% | -2.4% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | +13.3% |
| 2003 | 3.6% | +21.1% |
| 2004 | 4.1% | +14.4% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | +10.6% |
| 2006 | 4.9% | +7.7% |
| 2007 | 5.1% | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 5.5% | +7.3% |
| 2009 | 5.8% | +5.1% |
| 2010 | 5.8% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 5.8% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 5.7% | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 5.4% | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 5.2% | -2.0% |
| 2015 | 5.4% | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 5.4% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 5.4% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | -12.9% |
| 2019 | 4.6% | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 4.6% | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 4.5% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 4.5% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 4.5% | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 4.4% | -2.7% |
| 2025 | 4.2% | -3.3% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 4.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.7%, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 4.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.4%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | +31.9% | 2.6% | 3.4% |
| 1996 | -32.8% | 2.3% | 1.5% |
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
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 5.05 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 13,025 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 3,939 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 9,086 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14.87 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 324.5 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 339.5 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 60.39 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 279.11 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.2279 kt (2050)
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 218 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.