Mauritania vs United States
United States is 9.53 times larger than Mauritania. Mauritania would fit into United States about 9.5 times.
MauritaniaUnited StatesMauritania moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.1×
Mauritania is 0.1× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 9.53× the size of Mauritania.
 Mauritania |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 9.53× the area | 1,030,700 km²#28 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 4 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 64.3× the population | 5,315,065#124 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityUnited States: 6.74× the density | 5.2 / km²#185 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationUnited States: 1.3× the urban share | 62%#102 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateMauritania: 2.84× the births per woman | 4.63 per woman#11 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthMauritania: 2.26 points higher | +2.78%#18 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateMauritania: 3.21× the birth rate | 34.0 per 1,000#13 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.67× the death rate | 5.4 per 1,000#161 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Mauritania: 25.3 points higher | 42.4%#12 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 15.2 points higher | 3.2%#161 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationUnited States: 4.5 per 1,000 higher | −0.9 per 1,000#114 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadMauritania: 826× the refugees for its size | 8.26 per 1,000#22 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyUnited States: 10.2 years longer | 68.7 years#139 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityMauritania: 5.49× the infant mortality | 30.2 per 1,000 births#47 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsUnited States: 14.2× the doctors per person | 0.26 per 1,000#141 of 178 · 2022 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentUnited States: 13.2× the university enrolment | 6.0%#140 of 145 · 2020 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexUnited States: 0.375 higher | 0.563#160 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaUnited States: 40.2× the income per person | $2,210#145 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 2,634× the economy | $11.68B2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | Lower-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 11.7× the output per person | $7,676#139 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthMauritania: 1.8 points higher | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationUnited States: 1.4 points higher | +1.5%#128 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentMauritania: 2.45× the unemployment | 10.3%#34 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyMauritania: 9.27× the share in extreme poverty | 10.2%#45 of 149 · 2019 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 9.8 higher | 32.0#103 of 149 · 2019 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureMauritania: 30.6 points higher | 32.1% of jobs#55 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited States: 3.9 points higher | 15.0% of jobs#137 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 26.8 points higher | 52.8% of jobs#105 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentMauritania: 4.4 points higher | 5.4% of GDP#34 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsMauritania: 28.9 points higher | 39.9% of GDP#73 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spendingUnited States: 1.13× the military spending | 2.8% of GDP#37 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersUnited States: 2.07× the share online | 46%#149 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsUnited States: 1.23× the mobile subscriptions | 92 per 100#141 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited States: 33.8× the forest share | 1% of land#179 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 14× the CO₂ per person | 0.97 t a year#129 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyMauritania: 8.7 points higher | 19.6%#108 of 190 · 2022 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityUnited States: 47.8 points higher | 52.2%#177 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Mauritania: 6.64× the air pollution | 46.5 µg/m³#16 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landUnited States: 12.3 points higher | 0.6% of land#186 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 16.2 points higher | 0.4% of land#183 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 2.14× the water stress | 13.2%#78 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationUnited States: 7.77× the rain and snow | 92 mm#173 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityUnited States: 0.35 higher | −0.65#152 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionUnited States: 1.82 higher | −0.95#151 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 5.8× the homicide rate | 1.0 per 100,000#107 of 146 · 2020 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Nouakchott | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Arabic | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +222 | +1 |
| Region | Western Africa, Africa | Northern America, North America |
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; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why United States looks so much bigger than it is next to Mauritania. 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 United States?
- No. Mauritania is 9.53 times smaller than United States. Mauritania covers 1,030,700 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Mauritania fit into United States?
- About 9.5 times: United States has 9.53× the area of Mauritania.
- Why do Mauritania and United States 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 United States about 1.98×. That is why United States looks so much bigger than it really is next to Mauritania. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Mauritania or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 5,315,065. Density: Mauritania 5.2 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Mauritania or United States?
- By gross national income per person, United States: $88,810 against $2,210 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 40.2× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Mauritania or United States?
- In United States: life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years, against 68.7 — 10.2 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Mauritania and United States have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: presidential republic (CIA World Factbook).