Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Mauritania
Mauritania: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 16.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Mauritania, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Mauritania recorded 16.5% for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
That represents a change of down 49.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Mauritania peaked at 45.0% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 16.5%, in 2024.
That places Mauritania 32nd out of 169 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 45.0% | — |
| 2002 | 44.7% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 37.5% | -16.2% |
| 2005 | 37.0% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 36.0% | -2.6% |
| 2011 | 32.4% | -10.2% |
| 2012 | 31.1% | -3.9% |
| 2013 | 34.6% | +11.1% |
| 2014 | 32.9% | -4.8% |
| 2015 | 30.3% | -8.1% |
| 2016 | 37.4% | +23.5% |
| 2017 | 34.1% | -8.8% |
| 2018 | 31.4% | -7.8% |
| 2019 | 30.2% | -3.8% |
| 2020 | 33.2% | +9.9% |
| 2024 | 16.5% | -50.3% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 16.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.9%, 1.7× the median. (37 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 16.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.1%, 86% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | -50.3% | 33.2% | 16.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 40.0% | 36.0% | 45.0% | 5 |
| 2010s | 32.7% | 30.2% | 37.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 24.9% | 16.5% | 33.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
- 29 Lao People's Democratic Republic 21.5% compare
- 30 Côte d'Ivoire 19.1% compare
- 31 Madagascar 16.5% compare
- 33 Guatemala 16.5% compare
- 34 Romania 16.1% compare
- 35 El Salvador 16.0% compare
More education data for Mauritania
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 9,029 (2020)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 52,338 (2020)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 258,591 (2020)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 891,821 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 3.49 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1725 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 891,821 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Mauritania?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Mauritania was 16.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 45.0% in 2001.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.5% in 2024.
- How does Mauritania rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Mauritania ranks 32nd out of 169 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 49.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release