Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mauritania
Mauritania: Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty was 22.4% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mauritania, 1996–2022
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mauritania is 22.4%, measured in 2022.
The figure is up 51.4% on the previous year and up 9.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mauritania peaked at 29.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 14.8%, in 2021.
That places Mauritania 11th out of 96 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 20.3% | — |
| 2000 | 29.7% | +46.3% |
| 2007 | 25.5% | -14.1% |
| 2008 | 16.5% | -35.3% |
| 2011 | 24.4% | +47.9% |
| 2012 | 20.4% | -16.4% |
| 2015 | 24.9% | +22.1% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | -22.9% |
| 2019 | 17.3% | -9.9% |
| 2020 | 16.8% | -2.9% |
| 2021 | 14.8% | -11.9% |
| 2022 | 22.4% | +51.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.3% | 20.3% | 20.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 23.9% | 16.5% | 29.7% | 3 |
| 2010s | 21.2% | 17.3% | 24.9% | 5 |
| 2020s | 18.0% | 14.8% | 22.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
- 8 Lao People's Democratic Republic 24.3% compare
- 9 Pakistan 23.1% compare
- 10 Madagascar 22.6% compare
- 12 Bangladesh 21.7% compare
- 13 Ethiopia 21.2% compare
- 14 Benin 19.6% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Mauritania
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 4.7 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,537 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -15.39 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 12.58 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 12.6% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mauritania?
- Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty in Mauritania was 22.4% in 2022, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 29.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.8% in 2021.
- How does Mauritania rank for share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty?
- Mauritania ranks 11th out of 96 countries with data for 2022.
- Is share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME) - UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are underweight vs. share in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Underweight children are those less than 5 years old, whose weight for age is more than two standard deviations below the median for the international reference population. Extreme poverty is defined as living below the International Poverty Line of $3 per day.