School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Mauritania
Mauritania: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) was 2.59 years in 2020. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Mauritania, 1972–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Mauritania recorded 2.59 years for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in 2020.
That represents a change of down 4.8% on the previous year and up 81.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Mauritania peaked at 2.72 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.2038 years, in 1972.
That places Mauritania 196th out of 214 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 0.2038 years | — |
| 1981 | 0.6351 years | +211.7% |
| 1986 | 0.8771 years | +38.1% |
| 1987 | 0.9 years | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 0.9084 years | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 0.8797 years | -3.2% |
| 1990 | 0.8184 years | -7.0% |
| 1991 | 0.8013 years | -2.1% |
| 1992 | 0.8232 years | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 0.8563 years | +4.0% |
| 1994 | 0.8846 years | +3.3% |
| 1995 | 0.9195 years | +3.9% |
| 1996 | 0.9499 years | +3.3% |
| 1997 | 0.9417 years | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 0.9878 years | +4.9% |
| 1999 | 1.05 years | +5.9% |
| 2000 | 1.08 years | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 1.31 years | +21.0% |
| 2002 | 1.31 years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 1.29 years | -1.5% |
| 2004 | 1.4 years | +8.4% |
| 2005 | 1.43 years | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 1.48 years | +3.8% |
| 2008 | 1.3 years | -12.1% |
| 2009 | 1.4 years | +7.7% |
| 2010 | 1.43 years | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 1.59 years | +11.4% |
| 2012 | 1.91 years | +19.9% |
| 2013 | 2.24 years | +17.1% |
| 2014 | 2.24 years | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 2.26 years | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 2.33 years | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 2.3 years | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 2.58 years | +12.1% |
| 2019 | 2.72 years | +5.6% |
| 2020 | 2.59 years | -4.8% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 2.59 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.2 years, 62% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 2.59 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.05 years, 85% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +211.7% | 0.2038 years | 0.6351 years |
| 1986 | +38.1% | 0.6351 years | 0.8771 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.2038 years | 0.2038 years | 0.2038 years | 1 |
| 1980s | 0.8401 years | 0.6351 years | 0.9084 years | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.9029 years | 0.8013 years | 1.05 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.33 years | 1.08 years | 1.48 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 2.16 years | 1.43 years | 2.72 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.59 years | 2.59 years | 2.59 years | 1 |
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 school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Mauritania?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Mauritania was 2.59 years in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 2.72 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2038 years in 1972.
- How does Mauritania rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- Mauritania ranks 196th out of 214 countries with data for 2020.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 81.4%. 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, published as part of School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release