Share of children who are overweight or obese in Mauritania
Mauritania: Share of children who are overweight or obese was 1.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Mauritania, 2000–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children who are overweight or obese in Mauritania stood at 1.6%.
The figure is up 6.7% on the previous year and up 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who are overweight or obese in Mauritania peaked at 3.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2018.
Mauritania ranks 157th of 163 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of children who are overweight or obese in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.3% | — |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -6.1% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | -6.7% |
| 2004 | 2.6% | -7.1% |
| 2005 | 2.4% | -7.7% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | -4.2% |
| 2007 | 2.1% | -8.7% |
| 2008 | 2.0% | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | -10.0% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -5.6% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | -5.9% |
| 2012 | 1.5% | -6.3% |
| 2013 | 1.4% | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 1.4% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | -7.1% |
| 2016 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | -7.7% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | +8.3% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | +7.7% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +7.1% |
| 2024 | 1.6% | +6.7% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 1.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.5%, 35% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 1.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 38% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.5% | 1.8% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
More reference data data for Mauritania
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0975 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0216 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.327 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1337 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 14.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 14.99 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1178 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children who are overweight or obese in Mauritania?
- Share of children who are overweight or obese in Mauritania was 1.6% in 2024, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 3.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of children who are overweight or obese recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2018.
- How does Mauritania rank for share of children who are overweight or obese?
- Mauritania ranks 157th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children who are overweight or obese rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who are overweight or obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children under five years old that are defined as overweight or obese. A child is classified as overweight if their weight-for-height is more than two standard deviations from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards.