Mauritania vs Nigeria
Mauritania is 12% larger than Nigeria.
MauritaniaNigeriaMauritania moved onto Nigeria · Equal-area projection
1.12×
Mauritania is 1.12× the area of Nigeria.
 Mauritania |  Nigeria | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaMauritania: 1.12× the area | 1,030,700 km²#28 of 194 | 923,768 km²#31 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 4 |
| People | ||
| PopulationNigeria: 44.7× the population | 5,315,065#124 of 194 · 2025 | 237,527,782#6 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityNigeria: 49.9× the density | 5.2 / km²#185 of 194 | 257 / km²#38 of 194 |
| Urban populationNigeria: 1.04× the urban share | 62%#102 of 192 · 2025 | 64%#93 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateMauritania: 1.06× the births per woman | 4.63 per woman#11 of 192 · 2024 | 4.38 per woman#15 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthMauritania: 0.72 points higher | +2.78%#18 of 192 · 2025 | +2.06%#44 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateMauritania: 1.05× the birth rate | 34.0 per 1,000#13 of 192 · 2024 | 32.5 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateNigeria: 2.15× the death rate | 5.4 per 1,000#161 of 192 · 2024 | 11.6 per 1,000#20 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Mauritania: 1.9 points higher | 42.4%#12 of 192 · 2025 | 40.5%#19 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Mauritania: 0.1 points higher | 3.2%#161 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationNigeria: 0.8 per 1,000 higher | −0.9 per 1,000#114 of 192 · 2025 | −0.1 per 1,000#78 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadMauritania: 4.11× the refugees for its size | 8.26 per 1,000#22 of 190 · 2025 | 2.01 per 1,000#43 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyMauritania: 14.1 years longer | 68.7 years#139 of 192 · 2024 | 54.6 years#192 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityNigeria: 2.31× the infant mortality | 30.2 per 1,000 births#47 of 191 · 2024 | 69.8 per 1,000 births#2 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsNigeria: 1.46× the doctors per person | 0.26 per 1,000#141 of 178 · 2022 | 0.38 per 1,000#133 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolment | 6.0%#140 of 145 · 2020 | — |
| Human Development IndexMauritania: 0.003 higher | 0.563#160 of 190 · 2023 | 0.560#161 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaMauritania: 1.63× the income per person | $2,210#145 of 185 · 2025 | $1,360#159 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPNigeria: 24.9× the economy | $11.68B2025 | $290.79B2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | Lower-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Nigeria: 1.24× the output per person | $7,676#139 of 184 · 2025 | $9,532#128 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthThe same | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2025 | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationNigeria: 21.5 points higher | +1.5%#128 of 176 · 2025 | +23.0%#10 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentMauritania: 3.32× the unemployment | 10.3%#34 of 178 · 2025 | 3.1%#137 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyNigeria: 4.1× the share in extreme poverty | 10.2%#45 of 149 · 2019 | 41.8%#17 of 149 · 2022 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Nigeria: 1.9 higher | 32.0#103 of 149 · 2019 | 33.9#80 of 149 · 2022 |
| Jobs in agricultureNigeria: 1.4 points higher | 32.1% of jobs#55 of 178 · 2025 | 33.5% of jobs#52 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryNigeria: 2.0 points higher | 15.0% of jobs#137 of 178 · 2025 | 17.0% of jobs#113 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesMauritania: 3.3 points higher | 52.8% of jobs#105 of 178 · 2025 | 49.5% of jobs#122 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentMauritania: 4.0 points higher | 5.4% of GDP#34 of 184 · 2025 | 1.4% of GDP#112 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 39.9% of GDP#73 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spendingMauritania: 3.02× the military spending | 2.8% of GDP#37 of 155 · 2025 | 0.9% of GDP#119 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersMauritania: 1.11× the share online | 46%#149 of 184 · 2024 | 41%#153 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsMauritania: 1.3× the mobile subscriptions | 92 per 100#141 of 191 · 2024 | 71 per 100#157 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaNigeria: 18.9× the forest share | 1% of land#179 of 192 · 2024 | 19% of land#122 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personMauritania: 1.7× the CO₂ per person | 0.97 t a year#129 of 185 · 2024 | 0.57 t a year#146 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyNigeria: 60.7 points higher | 19.6%#108 of 190 · 2022 | 80.3%#16 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityNigeria: 10.3 points higher | 52.2%#177 of 192 · 2024 | 62.5%#160 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Nigeria: 1.41× the air pollution | 46.5 µg/m³#16 of 191 · 2023 | 65.7 µg/m³#4 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landNigeria: 13.3 points higher | 0.6% of land#186 of 191 · 2025 | 13.9% of land#124 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landNigeria: 40.4 points higher | 0.4% of land#183 of 190 · 2024 | 40.8% of land#13 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressMauritania: 1.36× the water stress | 13.2%#78 of 176 · 2022 | 9.7%#92 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationNigeria: 12.5× the rain and snow | 92 mm#173 of 180 · 2022 | 1,150 mm#80 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityMauritania: 1.09 higher | −0.65#152 of 193 · 2025 | −1.74#179 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionMauritania: 0.12 higher | −0.95#151 of 193 · 2025 | −1.07#158 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateNigeria: 15.7× the homicide rate | 1.0 per 100,000#107 of 146 · 2020 | 15.7 per 100,000#20 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republicfederal presidential republic |
| Member of | — | OPEC |
| Capital | Nouakchott | Abuja |
| Currency | Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU) | Nigerian naira (NGN) |
| Official languages | Arabic | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC+1 |
| Calling code | +222 | +234 |
| Region | Western 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. Mauritania sits at about 20° N and is stretched to 1.14× its true area; Nigeria at 10° N is stretched to 1.03×. 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 Mauritania bigger than Nigeria?
- Yes. Mauritania is 12% larger than Nigeria. Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km² and Nigeria covers 923,768 km².
- How many times does Nigeria fit into Mauritania?
- About 1.1 times: Mauritania has 1.12× the area of Nigeria.
- Why do Mauritania and Nigeria look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Mauritania is drawn about 1.14× its true area there and Nigeria about 1.03×. 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, Mauritania or Nigeria?
- Nigeria: 237,527,782 people against 5,315,065. Density: Mauritania 5.2 per km², Nigeria 257 per km².
- Which is richer, Mauritania or Nigeria?
- By gross national income per person, Mauritania: $2,210 against $1,360 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.63× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Mauritania or Nigeria?
- In Mauritania: life expectancy at birth is 68.7 years, against 54.6 — 14.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Mauritania and Nigeria have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).