country profile

Mauritania

Sub-Saharan AfricaLower middle income5.32M population

Last updated August 26, 2026

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Severely underprepared

Composite GEFRI Score

Severe readiness constraints across dimensions

Mauritania shows severely limited readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (16th percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms.

34.17Composite score
Global percentile
16th
Global rank
#149
Regional rank
#22
Viewing data for
Emerging readiness
Infrastructure
46.67
17th percentileGlobal avg. 70.44
Emerging readiness
Human Capital
47.25
21st percentileGlobal avg. 66.18
Critically unprepared
Innovation
28.69
17th percentileGlobal avg. 48.64
Severely underprepared
Governance
30.65
24th percentileGlobal avg. 47.07
Critically unprepared
Access & Parity
17.59
18th percentileGlobal avg. 60.85

Country profile

Mauritania faces substantial readiness constraints across core dimensions. Its weakest results are in Human Capital (47, 21st percentile), Infrastructure (47, 17th percentile), GEFRI Composite (34, 16th percentile), Governance (31, 24th percentile), Innovation (29, 17th percentile) and School Access and Gender Parity (18, 18th percentile). These gaps continue to weigh on overall readiness.

Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned. Limited electricity or internet coverage still constrains classrooms, preventing large-scale digital instruction. Literacy or tertiary enrollment gaps thin the talent pipeline and limit the country’s capacity to develop future-ready skills.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.

Regionally, School Access and Gender Parity lags peers the most, signalling where investment could have the highest impact.

Most indicators are observed rather than imputed, so estimation uncertainty is limited.

Key insights

Falls below many peers at the 16th percentile.

Places 149th worldwide.

Holds a regional position of 22nd within Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scores range from Human Capital (47.3) to Access & Parity (17.6), reflecting variation across dimensions.

Trails regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.

Regional peers: Sub-Saharan Africa

Composite GEFRI Score

Global rankRegional rankCountryScore
611Mauritius69.13
672South Africa68.78
SeychellesMicrostate64.14
863Botswana63.01
974Namibia59.03
1005Ghana58.00
1156Eswatini49.17
1167Cabo Verde49.06
1238Rwanda44.81
1279Gambia, The43.01
12810Kenya42.93
12911Senegal42.87
13012Gabon42.59
13213Equatorial Guinea41.26
13314Cote d'Ivoire41.19
13915Zambia38.11
14016Lesotho37.98
Sao Tome and PrincipeFCSMicrostate37.69
14117Togo37.61
14418Benin36.56
14519Zimbabwe36.55
14620Tanzania35.55
14721CameroonFCS35.16
14922Mauritania34.17
15023Sierra Leone33.62
15124ComorosFCS33.36
15225Burkina FasoFCS32.56
15326Congo, Rep.FCS32.39
15427Uganda32.27
15528Angola32.18
15729NigeriaFCS31.67
15830MozambiqueFCS30.55
15931MalawiFCS30.35
16032EthiopiaFCS30.26
16133MaliFCS29.69
16234Madagascar29.63
16435Guinea28.36
16536Guinea-BissauFCS28.36
16837Liberia24.94
16938NigerFCS24.54
17039Burundi24.53
17140Congo, Dem. Rep.FCS24.39
17241SudanFCS23.03
17342EritreaFCS21.02
17443ChadFCS20.62
17544Central African RepublicFCS20.44
17645SomaliaFCS20.32
17746South SudanFCS18.91