Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Mauritania
Mauritania: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total was 67 % in 2023. ▲ Rising
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Mauritania, 2014–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
Mauritania recorded 67 % for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in 2023.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and up 133.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Mauritania peaked at 68.2 % in 2022 and was at its lowest, 28.7 %, in 2014.
That places Mauritania 14th out of 121 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 28.7 % | — |
| 2015 | 31.5 % | +9.8% |
| 2016 | 34.6 % | +9.8% |
| 2017 | 38 % | +9.8% |
| 2018 | 43.3 % | +13.9% |
| 2019 | 47.3 % | +9.2% |
| 2020 | 55.6 % | +17.5% |
| 2021 | 63.1 % | +13.5% |
| 2022 | 68.2 % | +8.1% |
| 2023 | 67 % | -1.8% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 67 % is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 47.55 %, 1.4× the median. (28 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 67 % is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 64 %, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 37.23 % | 28.7 % | 47.3 % | 6 |
| 2020s | 63.48 % | 55.6 % | 68.2 % | 4 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
More agriculture & rural data for Mauritania
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.81 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1995 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 438.46 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5156 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3851 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 20.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 20.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.2% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Mauritania?
- Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total in Mauritania was 67 % in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 68.2 % in 2022.
- What is the lowest prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.7 % in 2014.
- How does Mauritania rank for prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total?
- Mauritania ranks 14th out of 121 countries with data for 2023.
- Is prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 133.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the total population (percent) (3-year average) — Confidence interval: Upper bound. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture various aspects of food insecurity is presented here. The choice of the indicators has been informed by expert judgement and the availability of data with sufficient coverage to enable comparisons across regions and over time. Many of these indicators are produced and published elsewhere by FAO and other international organizations. They are reported here in a single database with the aim of building a wide food security information system. More indicators will be added to this set as more data will become available. Indicators are classified along the four dimensions of food security -- availability, access, utilization and stability.