Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Mauritania
Mauritania: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height was 1.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Mauritania, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
Mauritania recorded 1.6% for prevalence of overweight, weight for height in 2024.
That represents a change of up 6.7% on the previous year and up 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Mauritania peaked at 3.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2018.
That places Mauritania 157th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.3% | — |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -6.1% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | -6.7% |
| 2004 | 2.6% | -7.1% |
| 2005 | 2.4% | -7.7% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | -4.2% |
| 2007 | 2.1% | -8.7% |
| 2008 | 2.0% | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | -10.0% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -5.6% |
| 2011 | 1.6% | -5.9% |
| 2012 | 1.5% | -6.3% |
| 2013 | 1.4% | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 1.4% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | -7.1% |
| 2016 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | -7.7% |
| 2019 | 1.3% | +8.3% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.3% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.4% | +7.7% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | +7.1% |
| 2024 | 1.6% | +6.7% |
Mauritania compared with similar countries
- Mauritania's 1.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.7%, 34% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Mauritania's 1.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.2%, 38% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.5% | 1.8% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
More health data for Mauritania
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8878 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.19 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 653 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 1,563 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.77 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.077 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.77 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Mauritania?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height in Mauritania was 1.6% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 3.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2018.
- How does Mauritania rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height?
- Mauritania ranks 157th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Prevalence of overweight, weight for height (modeled estimate, % of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Prevalence of overweight children is the percentage of children under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.