Key Stats
| Category | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Continent: | Africa |
| Capital: | Nouakchott |
| Population: | 5,315,000 |
| % Urban: | 59.2 % |
| Population Under 15 Yrs: | 40 % |
| Official Language: | Arabic. Pular, Soninke and Wolof are all national languages |
| Languages: | 7 |
| Literacy Rate: | 52 % |
| Life Expectancy: | 64.4 yrs (195/236) |
| HDI Ranking: | 158 / 189 |
| % Christian: | 0.3 % |
| % Evangelical: | 0.1 % |
| Largest Religion: | Muslim |
| % Largest Religion: | 99.8 % |
| People Groups: | 17 |
| Least Reached People Groups: | 15 |
| % Unevangelized: | 73 % |
| Persecution Ranking: | 21 / 50 |
Resources
Mauritania
Islam has been entrenched for 1,000 years with little challenge. Mauritanians see their nation as the most Islamic country in Africa. Many are the barriers to change – laws hindering proclamation of the gospel, powerful social resistance to change, an historic reluctance to engage with the outside world, geographical isolation, low literacy and minimal exposure to Christians and Christian media. The arrest of alleged converts to Christianity in 2023 highlights the hostility to even the notion of Mauritanians leaving Islam. Pray for greater spiritual openness and hunger for God. World Vision, Caritas, the Lutherans and others are working in development as well as with issues such as disease awareness and prevention, human rights and environmental protection.
More Information
- Get all of this content and daily notifications in our free mobile app. Download here ›
- Sign up for a daily e-mail that gets you the featured prayer point of the day straight to your inbox.
- This content is a curated selection of points from our book, Operation World. Find out more about it and all the rest of Our Publications ›
Content taken or adapted from Operation World, 7th Edition (2010) and Pray for the World (2015). Both books are published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved.