Human Development & Quality of Life in Mauritania
Human Development
Mauritania's 2023 HDI is 0.563, placing it 163 in UNDP's table and in the medium human development category. Reading beyond the headline, education combines 7.9 expected years of schooling with 4.9 mean years already attained. A second lens is equally relevant here: The income component uses GNI per capita of $6,267 in 2021 PPP dollars.
What sits inside Mauritania's HDI
On this page, Mauritania's 2023 HDI inputs include life expectancy of 68.5, expected schooling of 7.9, mean schooling of 4.9, and GNI per capita of $6,267 in 2021 PPP dollars. Together they explain the headline index without turning any single input into a separate ranking.
Inequality changes the headline
IHDI reframes Mauritania's HDI by accounting for unequal outcomes within the population. That is a different question from how satisfied people say they are with life.
Gender and planetary-pressure adjustments
Mauritania's complementary UNDP indicators include GDI 0.886, GII 0.603, PHDI 0.542. Reading them together is useful, but combining them would obscure their different definitions.
Quality-of-life coverage is conditional
The OECD comparison used here does not provide a life-satisfaction observation that this Mauritania page can reproduce. Missing source coverage is shown as a limitation, not filled with an estimate.
What Mauritania's numbers say together
For a fuller view of Mauritania, the page shows IHDI 0.374 with a 33.6% loss; PHDI 0.542 after a 3.7% adjustment; GDI 0.886. Their scopes differ, which is why the page presents them side by side rather than blending them.
HDI for Mauritania stands at 0.563 in 2023, with UNDP rank 163. It is a development benchmark based on three dimensions, not an all-purpose national score. When using this figure elsewhere, preserve the distinction between level and distribution because the evidence is strongest when each metric keeps its own scope.
The IHDI is 0.374, and UNDP reports an overall loss of 33.6% relative to the headline index.
The GDI value is 0.886 in group 5; it should be read alongside, not merged into, HDI.
The PHDI is 0.542, with a 3.7% adjustment from the HDI value in UNDP's 2023 table.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mauritania's HDI?
The UNDP table records Mauritania at 0.563 on HDI in 2023, with global rank 163.
How does inequality affect Mauritania's HDI?
After the inequality adjustment, Mauritania's index falls to 0.374; UNDP quantifies the overall loss at 33.6%. For the evidence on this page, preserve the distinction between level and distribution so the number is not mistaken for another indicator.
Why is there no life satisfaction score on this page?
This profile does not fill the quality-of-life section for Mauritania simply to complete the layout. No value is inferred when the underlying source does not publish one.
Is HDI the same as quality of life?
No. HDI is an objective development index based on health, education and income. Quality-of-life evidence is presented alongside HDI only when a comparable observation is available.
Sources & methodology
Sources for the development indicators and definitions shown above.
View sources used for this page
Primary source for 2023 HDI and its components, plus IHDI, GDI, GII and PHDI where reported.
Report edition underlying the 2023 human-development indices and ranking.
Data note: Reference years are shown with each indicator; unavailable observations remain unfilled.