Mauritania: Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 6.42 percentage points from 67.03% in 2015. Since 1976 it is up 62.62 percentage points from 10.82% in 1976. The World Bank has no value for 9 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2020, Mauritania's primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) rose 7.07 percentage points on 2019 (from 66.38% to 73.45%).

Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1977 to 2019), the average change was +1.4 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 10.8 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.46 percentage points in 1990. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 8 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Mauritania in the 2020 ranking

• Guinea — 2nd of 3: 59.88%
• Burundi — 3rd of 3: 47.61%

What this measures

Primary completion rate, or gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, is the number of new entrants (enrollments minus repeaters) in the last grade of primary education, regardless of age, divided by the population at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education. Data limitations preclude adjusting for students who drop out during the final year of primary education.

Limitations: The data do not account for students who drop out during the final year of primary education. Therefore, this rate serves as a proxy and should be considered an upper estimate of the actual primary completion rate. There are many reasons why the primary completion rate can exceed 100 percent. The numerator may include late entrants and overage children who have repeated one or more grades of primary education as well as children who entered school early, while the denominator is the number of children at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 36 values

Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in nearby economies

• Benin — 61.64% (2022)
• Botswana — 101.53% (2022)
• Burkina Faso — 51.99% (2024)
• Burundi — 47.61% (2020)
• Cabo Verde — 99.1% (2022)
• Cameroon — 75.29% (2024)
• Central African Republic — 38.48% (2016)
• Chad — 41.85% (2021)
• Comoros — 72.72% (2024)

More education data for Mauritania

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 891,821 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 105.44% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 24,560 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 106.94% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 103.97% (2024)
• Secondary education, general pupils

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Questions people ask

What is Mauritania's primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group)?

73.45% in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1976?

It is up 62.62 percentage points from 10.82% in 1976. The highest value was 73.45% in 2020 and the lowest 10.82% in 1976.

Is the latest change in primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) unusual for Mauritania?

In 2020, Mauritania's primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) rose 7.07 percentage points on 2019 (from 66.38% to 73.45%). Across the 27 yearly changes before that (1977 to 2019), the average change was +1.4 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.CMPT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. 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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