Mauritania's population ages 65 and above (% of total population) was 3.25% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 0.29 percentage points from 3.53% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 3.25% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 3.26% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 3.53% | 2015 |
| Highest | 3.77% | 2012 |
| Lowest | 2.3% | 1960 |
| Average since 2016 | 3.29% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 2.3% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Mauritania's population ages 65 and above (% of total population) rose 0.02 percentage points on 2024 (from 3.23% to 3.25%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.06 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.15 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.12 percentage points in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.02 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 74% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, Mauritania had the 186th highest value of the 217 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Mauritania | 3.25% | 2025 |
| World | 10.4% | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 3.23% | 2025 |
| Lower middle income | 6.04% | 2025 |
Closest to Mauritania in the 2025 ranking
- Liberia — 183rd of 217: 3.33%
- Ethiopia — 184th of 217: 3.3%
- Sierra Leone — 185th of 217: 3.28%
- Guinea-Bissau — 187th of 217: 3.24%
- Gambia, The — 188th of 217: 3.18%
- Kuwait — 189th of 217: 3.17%
What this measures
Population ages 65 and above as a percentage of the total population. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
Limitations: Because the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used in the United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects, interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. For more information, see the original source.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 66 values
| Year | Population ages 65 and above (% of total population) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.25 |
| 2024 | 3.23 |
| 2023 | 3.22 |
| 2022 | 3.21 |
| 2021 | 3.22 |
| 2020 | 3.26 |
| 2019 | 3.3 |
| 2018 | 3.34 |
| 2017 | 3.39 |
| 2016 | 3.45 |
| 2015 |
Population ages 65 and above (% of total population) in nearby economies
- Angola — 2.89% (2025)
- Benin — 3.15% (2025)
- Botswana — 4.08% (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 2.68% (2025)
- Burundi — 2.55% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 7.15% (2025)
- Cameroon — 2.82% (2025)
- Central African Republic — 2.2% (2025)
- Chad — 2.12% (2025)
- Comoros
More health data for Mauritania
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 15.12% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 16.08% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 1.11 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 41.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 1.14 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 43.72% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 2.25 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 42.38% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 13.69% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Mauritania's population ages 65 and above (% of total population)?
- 3.25% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 0.95 percentage points from 2.3% in 1960. The highest value was 3.77% in 2012 and the lowest 2.3% in 1960.
- How does Mauritania rank?
- 186th highest of 217 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in population ages 65 and above (% of total population) unusual for Mauritania?
- In 2025, Mauritania's population ages 65 and above (% of total population) rose 0.02 percentage points on 2024 (from 3.23% to 3.25%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.01 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.06 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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