Share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Mauritania

Mauritania: Share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities was 40.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
40.7%
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
81st
of 120 countries
All-time high
54.7%
in 2013
All-time low
40.4%
in 2023
Years of data
16
2009–2024

Share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Mauritania, 2009–2024

02040602009201620242009: 53.7 %2010: 54 %2011: 54.2 %2012: 54.5 %2013: 54.7 %2014: 53.2 %2015: 51.7 %2016: 50.2 %2017: 48.8 %2018: 47.3 %2019: 45.9 %2020: 44.5 %2021: 43.1 %2022: 41.8 %2023: 40.4 %2024: 40.7 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Mauritania stood at 40.7%.

The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 23.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Mauritania peaked at 54.7% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 40.4%, in 2023.

That places Mauritania 81st out of 120 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 53.7% 53.7% 53.7% 1
2010s 51.4% 45.9% 54.7% 10
2020s 42.1% 40.4% 44.5% 5

Countries ranked near Mauritania

  1. 78 Namibia 44.6% compare
  2. 79 South Africa 44.4% compare
  3. 80 Zimbabwe 42.5% compare
  4. 82 Eswatini 39.3% compare
  5. 83 Solomon Islands 38.6% compare
  6. 84 Cameroon 37.8% compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More population data for Mauritania

All data for Mauritania →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Mauritania?
Share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Mauritania was 40.7% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Mauritania?
The highest recorded value was 54.7% in 2013.
What is the lowest share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Mauritania?
The lowest recorded value was 40.4% in 2023.
How does Mauritania rank for share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities?
Mauritania ranks 81st out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Mauritania?
Over the last ten years it is down 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Mauritania data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of population with access to basic handwashing facilities
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 1,792 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.