Ethiopia vs Mauritania
Ethiopia is 7% larger than Mauritania.
EthiopiaMauritaniaEthiopia moved onto Mauritania · Equal-area projection
1.07×
Ethiopia is 1.07× the area of Mauritania.
 Ethiopia |  Mauritania | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaEthiopia: 1.07× the area | 1,104,300 km²#26 of 194 | 1,030,700 km²#28 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationEthiopia: 25.5× the population | 135,472,051#10 of 194 · 2025 | 5,315,065#124 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityEthiopia: 23.8× the density | 123 / km²#73 of 194 | 5.2 / km²#185 of 194 |
| Urban populationMauritania: 2.55× the urban share | 24%#182 of 192 · 2025 | 62%#102 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateMauritania: 1.18× the births per woman | 3.91 per woman#26 of 192 · 2024 | 4.63 per woman#11 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthMauritania: 0.23 points higher | +2.55%#24 of 192 · 2025 | +2.78%#18 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateMauritania: 1.08× the birth rate | 31.5 per 1,000#24 of 192 · 2024 | 34.0 per 1,000#13 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateEthiopia: 1.09× the death rate | 5.9 per 1,000#144 of 192 · 2024 | 5.4 per 1,000#161 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Mauritania: 3.6 points higher | 38.8%#30 of 192 · 2025 | 42.4%#12 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Ethiopia: 0.1 points higher | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 | 3.2%#161 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationEthiopia: 1.1 per 1,000 higher | +0.2 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2025 | −0.9 per 1,000#114 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadMauritania: 6.83× the refugees for its size | 1.21 per 1,000#54 of 190 · 2025 | 8.26 per 1,000#22 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyMauritania: 1.1 years longer | 67.6 years#146 of 192 · 2024 | 68.7 years#139 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityEthiopia: 1.14× the infant mortality | 34.5 per 1,000 births#36 of 191 · 2024 | 30.2 per 1,000 births#47 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsMauritania: 1.86× the doctors per person | 0.14 per 1,000#161 of 178 · 2023 | 0.26 per 1,000#141 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 6.0%#140 of 145 · 2020 |
| Human Development IndexMauritania: 0.066 higher | 0.497#177 of 190 · 2023 | 0.563#160 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaMauritania: 1.99× the income per person | $1,110#168 of 185 · 2025 | $2,210#145 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPEthiopia: 10.8× the economy | $126.36B2025 | $11.68B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Mauritania: 2.12× the output per person | $3,622#165 of 184 · 2025 | $7,676#139 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthEthiopia: 5.8 points higher | +9.8%#5 of 187 · 2025 | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationEthiopia: 11.7 points higher | +13.2%#17 of 176 · 2025 | +1.5%#128 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentMauritania: 3.12× the unemployment | 3.3%#127 of 178 · 2025 | 10.3%#34 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyEthiopia: 3.78× the share in extreme poverty | 38.6%#23 of 149 · 2021 | 10.2%#45 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Mauritania: 0.9 higher | 31.1#110 of 149 · 2021 | 32.0#103 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agricultureEthiopia: 28.0 points higher | 60.1% of jobs#14 of 178 · 2025 | 32.1% of jobs#55 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryMauritania: 8.6 points higher | 6.4% of jobs#174 of 178 · 2025 | 15.0% of jobs#137 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesMauritania: 19.4 points higher | 33.4% of jobs#161 of 178 · 2025 | 52.8% of jobs#105 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentMauritania: 2.4 points higher | 3.0% of GDP#65 of 184 · 2025 | 5.4% of GDP#34 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsMauritania: 26.6 points higher | 13.3% of GDP#153 of 168 · 2025 | 39.9% of GDP#73 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingMauritania: 5.61× the military spending | 0.5% of GDP#144 of 155 · 2025 | 2.8% of GDP#37 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersMauritania: 2.09× the share online | 22%#171 of 184 · 2024 | 46%#149 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsMauritania: 1.42× the mobile subscriptions | 65 per 100#167 of 191 · 2024 | 92 per 100#141 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaEthiopia: 23.8× the forest share | 24% of land#113 of 192 · 2024 | 1% of land#179 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personMauritania: 6.47× the CO₂ per person | 0.15 t a year#174 of 185 · 2024 | 0.97 t a year#129 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEthiopia: 71.0 points higher | 90.6%#7 of 190 · 2021 | 19.6%#108 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityEthiopia: 4.4 points higher | 56.6%#167 of 192 · 2024 | 52.2%#177 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Mauritania: 1.95× the air pollution | 23.8 µg/m³#63 of 191 · 2023 | 46.5 µg/m³#16 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landEthiopia: 16.4 points higher | 17.0% of land#100 of 191 · 2025 | 0.6% of land#186 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landEthiopia: 14.2 points higher | 14.6% of land#75 of 190 · 2024 | 0.4% of land#183 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressEthiopia: 2.45× the water stress | 32.3%#52 of 176 · 2022 | 13.2%#78 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationEthiopia: 9.22× the rain and snow | 848 mm#101 of 180 · 2022 | 92 mm#173 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityMauritania: 1.20 higher | −1.85#183 of 193 · 2025 | −0.65#152 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionEthiopia: 0.58 higher | −0.37#108 of 193 · 2025 | −0.95#151 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 1.0 per 100,000#107 of 146 · 2020 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | BRICS | — |
| Capital | Addis Ababa | Nouakchott |
| Currency | Ethiopian birr (ETB) | Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU) |
| Official languages | Amharic | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC |
| Calling code | +251 | +222 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Western Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Ethiopia sits at about 9° N and is stretched to 1.02× its true area; Mauritania at 20° N is stretched to 1.14×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Ethiopia bigger than Mauritania?
- Yes. Ethiopia is 7% larger than Mauritania. Ethiopia covers 1,104,300 km² and Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km².
- How many times does Mauritania fit into Ethiopia?
- About 1.1 times: Ethiopia has 1.07× the area of Mauritania.
- Why do Ethiopia and Mauritania look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Ethiopia is drawn about 1.02× its true area there and Mauritania about 1.14×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Ethiopia or Mauritania?
- Ethiopia: 135,472,051 people against 5,315,065. Density: Ethiopia 123 per km², Mauritania 5.2 per km².
- Which is richer, Ethiopia or Mauritania?
- By gross national income per person, Mauritania: $2,210 against $1,110 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.99× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or Mauritania?
- In Mauritania: life expectancy at birth is 68.7 years, against 67.6 — 1.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Ethiopia and Mauritania have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Ethiopia: parliamentary republic; Mauritania: presidential republic.