Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritania
Mauritania: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 88.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritania, 1985–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritania stood at 88.7%. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is up 23.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritania peaked at 88.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 32.3%, in 1985.
That places Mauritania 162nd out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 32.3% | — |
| 1994 | 47.1% | +46.0% |
| 1995 | 53.5% | +13.6% |
| 1996 | 56.8% | +6.2% |
| 1998 | 60.4% | +6.2% |
| 1999 | 59.7% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 59.4% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 62.0% | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 60.9% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 63.6% | +4.5% |
| 2004 | 70.4% | +10.7% |
| 2005 | 69.3% | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 72.4% | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 74.1% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 71.4% | -3.7% |
| 2009 | 71.2% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 71.4% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 71.2% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 69.1% | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 70.7% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 72.0% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 75.4% | +4.8% |
| 2016 | 67.3% | -10.8% |
| 2017 | 71.2% | +5.8% |
| 2018 | 72.5% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 69.1% | -4.7% |
| 2020 | 74.6% | +8.0% |
| 2024 | 88.7% | +19.0% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 88.7% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 93.7%, 95% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 88.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 84.5%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +46.0% | 32.3% | 47.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 32.3% | 32.3% | 32.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 55.5% | 47.1% | 60.4% | 5 |
| 2000s | 67.5% | 59.4% | 74.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.0% | 67.3% | 75.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.7% | 74.6% | 88.7% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
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 share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritania?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritania was 88.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 88.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.3% in 1985.
- How does Mauritania rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Mauritania ranks 162nd out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.