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Hunger · Sub-Saharan Africa

Hunger and malnutrition in Mauritania

20.8Global Hunger Index 2026, rank 90Serious

11% of people in Mauritania do not get enough to eat, about 585 thousand. 25% of young children are too short for their age, a sign of long-term undernutrition, and 14% are dangerously thin. Stunting ranges from 13% in Dakhlet Nouadhibou to 37% in Tagant.

11%undernourished (2024, FAO)
65%moderately or severely food insecure (2024)
25%children under 5 stunted (2022)
14%children under 5 wasted (2022)
22%children under 5 underweight (2022)
1.0%children under 5 overweight (2021)
66%children 6-59 months anaemic (2019, WHO)
37 per 1,000children who die before age five (2024)

Child stunting by region in Mauritania

Children under five too short for their age, the 2020 Demographic and Health Survey (2020). Survey figures can differ from the UN estimate above, which is modelled across surveys.

  1. 1Tagant37%
  2. 2Hodh Echargui36%
  3. 3Adrar33%
  4. 4Hodh Gharbi31%
  5. 5Assaba28%
  6. 6Guidimagha28%
  7. 7Gorgol27%
  8. 8Trarza23%
  9. 9Tiris Zemour et Inchiri23%
  10. 10Brakna19%
  11. 11Nouakchott Sud19%
  12. 12Nouakchott Nord18%
  13. 13Nouakchott Ouest15%
  14. 14Dakhlet Nouadhibou13%

Global Hunger Index score over time

Out of 100, lower is better. The index rescores past years with the latest data, so these are comparable with each other.

  1. 200031.3
  2. 200625.3
  3. 201220.1
  4. 201819.3
  5. 202620.8

Undernourishment in Mauritania since 2002

Share of people not getting enough calories, FAO. Each figure is a three-year average centred on the year.

  1. 20029.2%
  2. 20049.5%
  3. 20069.3%
  4. 20087.3%
  5. 20106.8%
  6. 20126.1%
  7. 20146.6%
  8. 20167.3%
  9. 20187.6%
  10. 20208.4%
  11. 20229.9%
  12. 202411%

How Mauritania compares

Mauritania has the 36th highest child stunting of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015. In Sub-Saharan Africa it is 30th of 47.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mauritania's rank in the Global Hunger Index?

Mauritania ranks 90 in the 2026 Global Hunger Index with a score of 20.8, which the index calls serious. It scored 31.3 in 2000. The score combines undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and deaths of children under five.

How many people are hungry in Mauritania?

FAO estimates 11% of people in Mauritania were undernourished in 2024, about 585 thousand people. 65% faced moderate or severe food insecurity (2024).

What percentage of children are stunted in Mauritania?

25% of children under five in Mauritania were stunted in 2022, which WHO rates high. 14% were wasted (2022). That ranks Mauritania 36 of 129 countries with an estimate since 2015, highest first.

Which region of Mauritania has the most malnutrition?

In the 2020 Demographic and Health Survey, Tagant had the highest share of stunted children, 37%, and Dakhlet Nouadhibou the lowest, 13%.

Sources: FAO (undernourishment, food insecurity), UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Joint Malnutrition Estimates (stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight), WHO (anaemia) and UN IGME (child deaths), as published by the World Bank; Global Hunger Index 2026; regions from the DHS Program (MR2020DHS).

Hunger in other countries of Sub-Saharan Africa

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