Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Mauritania
Mauritania: Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas was 36.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Mauritania, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Mauritania recorded 36.3% for open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 5.0% on the previous year and down 34.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Mauritania peaked at 82.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 36.3%, in 2024.
Mauritania ranks 17th of 175 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 82.6% | — |
| 2001 | 80.7% | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 78.8% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 76.8% | -2.4% |
| 2004 | 74.9% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 73.0% | -2.6% |
| 2006 | 71.0% | -2.6% |
| 2007 | 69.1% | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 67.2% | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 65.3% | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 63.3% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 61.4% | -3.0% |
| 2012 | 59.5% | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 57.5% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 55.6% | -3.4% |
| 2015 | 53.7% | -3.5% |
| 2016 | 51.8% | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 49.8% | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 47.9% | -3.9% |
| 2019 | 46.0% | -4.0% |
| 2020 | 44.0% | -4.2% |
| 2021 | 42.1% | -4.4% |
| 2022 | 40.2% | -4.6% |
| 2023 | 38.3% | -4.8% |
| 2024 | 36.3% | -5.0% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 36.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.0%, 3.3× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 36.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.7%, 1.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 73.9% | 65.3% | 82.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.6% | 46.0% | 63.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 40.2% | 36.3% | 44.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
- 14 Burkina Faso 42.3% compare
- 15 Central African Republic 38.8% compare
- 16 Madagascar 36.5% compare
- 18 Haiti 31.5% compare
- 19 Nigeria 31.2% compare
- 20 Cote d'Ivoire 31.0% compare
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 open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Mauritania?
- Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Mauritania was 36.3% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 82.6% in 2000.
- What is the lowest open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.3% in 2024.
- How does Mauritania rank for open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas?
- Mauritania ranks 17th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
- Is open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas. 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 people who practice open defecation. This includes defecating in fields, forests, bushes, bodies of water or other open spaces, not using any sanitation facilities.