Which has higher human development index, Lesotho or Mauritania?

Mauritania, at 0.464 HDI against 0.456 HDI in Lesotho as of 2011.

What is the difference in human development index between Lesotho and Mauritania?

0.008 HDI, with Mauritania ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Mauritania?

10 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2011.

Where does this data come from?

http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/, published as Human development index (HDI). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Lesotho vs Mauritania: Human development index

Lesotho

0.456 HDI

in 2011

Mauritania

0.464 HDI

in 2011

Lesotho rank

25th

Mauritania rank

24th

Human development index over time

Lesotho
Mauritania

How they compare

Mauritania currently reports 0.464 HDI against 0.456 HDI in Lesotho, a difference of 0.008 HDI.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 10 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Lesotho ahead.

Lesotho ranks 25th and Mauritania ranks 24th of 50 countries.

Across the 4 decades both report, Lesotho averaged higher in 2 and Mauritania in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Lesotho	Mauritania	Difference	Ahead
1980s	0.422 HDI	0.34 HDI	0.082 HDI	Lesotho
1990s	0.474 HDI	0.357 HDI	0.117 HDI	Lesotho
2000s	0.4338 HDI	0.4463 HDI	0.0125 HDI	Mauritania
2010s	0.454 HDI	0.464 HDI	0.01 HDI	Mauritania

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher human development index, Lesotho or Mauritania?: Mauritania, at 0.464 HDI against 0.456 HDI in Lesotho as of 2011.
What is the difference in human development index between Lesotho and Mauritania?: 0.008 HDI, with Mauritania ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Lesotho and Mauritania?: 10 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2011.
How do Lesotho and Mauritania rank globally for human development index?: Lesotho ranks 25th and Mauritania ranks 24th of 50 countries.
Where does this data come from?: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/, published as Human development index (HDI). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Lesotho vs Mauritania: Human development index. Statizoid, drawing on http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/human-development-index-hdi/lesotho/mauritania/

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About this data

Indicator: Human development index (HDI)
Unit: HDI
Source: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/data/
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 50 places, 459 data points, 1980–2011
Last refreshed: 18 September 2026

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of human development. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices measuring achievements in each dimension. The HDI is the geometric mean of the three dimension indices and embodies imperfect substitutability across all HDI dimensions. It thus addresses one of the most serious criticisms of the linear aggregation formula, which allowed for perfect substitution across dimensions. Some substitutability is inherent in the definition of any index that increases with the values of its components. Data sources: Life expectancy at birth: UNDESA; Mean years of schooling: Barro and Lee; Expected years of schooling: UNESCO Institute for Statistics; Gross national income (GNI) per capita: World Bank.