Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Mauritania fits inside Algeria 2.3 times
Algeria: 2,381,740 km² (2024) · Mauritania: 1,030,700 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Algeria’s coastline is 32% longer than Mauritania’s
Algeria: 998 km (2026 edition) · Mauritania: 754 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Algeria’s highest peak towers 1,993 m above Mauritania’s
Algeria: 2,908 m (2026 edition) · Mauritania: 915 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 39% of Mauritania, versus 17% of Algeria
Algeria: 17.3% (2024) · Mauritania: 38.5% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Algeria has 8.9 times as many people as Mauritania
Algeria: 47.4 million (2025) · Mauritania: 5.32 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Algeria is 3.9 times as densely populated as Mauritania
Algeria: 20 per km² (2025) · Mauritania: 5 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Algeria are 9.5 cm taller than in Mauritania
Algeria: 175 cm (2019) · Mauritania: 165.5 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Algeria are 2.3 cm taller than in Mauritania
Algeria: 162.4 cm (2019) · Mauritania: 160.1 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Algeria is 11 years older than in Mauritania
Algeria: 28.2 years (2023) · Mauritania: 17.1 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Mauritania have 1.9 more children on average than in Algeria
Algeria: 2.72 children per woman (2024) · Mauritania: 4.63 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
6.8% of people in Algeria are 65 or older, versus 3.2% in Mauritania
Algeria: 6.8% (2025) · Mauritania: 3.2% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Mauritania hosts 15 times as many refugees per resident as Algeria
Algeria: 3.8 per 1,000 (2025) · Mauritania: 56.7 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Algeria has produced 0.4 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Mauritania none
Algeria: 0.4 (2026) · Mauritania: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Algeria and Mauritania are practically level
Algeria: 1 (2026) · Mauritania: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Algeria’s economy is 25 times the size of Mauritania’s
Algeria: $287 billion (2025) · Mauritania: $11.7 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Algeria produces 2.4 times as much per person as Mauritania
Algeria: Int$18,586 (2025) · Mauritania: Int$7,676 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Algeria: no data · Mauritania: 32 (2019)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
Algeria: no data · Mauritania: 10.2% (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 12% in Algeria, versus 10% in Mauritania
Algeria: 11.6% (2025) · Mauritania: 10.3% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Algeria spends 8.8% of its GDP on the military, Mauritania 2.7%
Algeria: 8.8% (2025) · Mauritania: 2.7% (2025)
How expensive is it?
Algeria’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× Mauritania’s
Algeria: 33% (2025) · Mauritania: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Algeria spends 2.5 times as much on health per person as Mauritania
Algeria: $233 (2023) · Mauritania: $92 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Algeria live 7.8 years longer than in Mauritania
Algeria: 76.5 years (2024) · Mauritania: 68.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Mauritania is 55% more likely to die before turning one than in Algeria
Algeria: 19.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Mauritania: 30.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Algeria has 6.4 times as many doctors per person as Mauritania
Algeria: 1.7 per 1,000 (2022) · Mauritania: 0.3 per 1,000 (2022)
How many hospital beds are there?
Algeria: 1.6 per 1,000 (2017) · Mauritania: no data
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Mauritania is 3 times that in Algeria
Algeria: 3.2 per 100k (2023) · Mauritania: 9.6 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
24% of adults in Algeria are obese, versus 22% in Mauritania
Algeria: 24.3% (2024) · Mauritania: 22.1% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
22% of adults in Algeria smoke, versus 9.9% in Mauritania
Algeria: 22.4% (2024) · Mauritania: 9.9% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Algeria rate their lives 1.24 points higher than in Mauritania
Algeria: 5.71 (2025) · Mauritania: 4.47 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Algeria drink 256 times as much alcohol as in Mauritania
Algeria: 0.4 litres (2023) · Mauritania: 0.0017 litres (2019)
How much meat is on the menu?
Mauritania has 64% more meat per person than Algeria
Algeria: 22.3 kg (2023) · Mauritania: 36.5 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Algeria has 487 kcal more food per person per day than Mauritania
Algeria: 3,396 kcal (2023) · Mauritania: 2,909 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Algeria: 2,232 hours (2023) · Mauritania: no data
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Algeria went to school 2.6 years longer than in Mauritania
Algeria: 7.4 years (2023) · Mauritania: 4.9 years (2023)
How many World Heritage sites?
Algeria has 5 more World Heritage sites than Mauritania (7 against 2)
Algeria: 7 (2026) · Mauritania: 2 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Algeria has won 20 Olympic medals, Mauritania none
Algeria: 20 (2026 edition) · Mauritania: 0 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
77% of people in Algeria are online, versus 46% in Mauritania
Algeria: 77% (2024) · Mauritania: 46% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Algeria is 3 times as fast as in Mauritania
Algeria: 165 Mbps (2026) · Mauritania: 55 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Algeria have electricity, versus 52% in Mauritania
Algeria: 100% (2024) · Mauritania: 52.2% (2024)
How many live in cities?
76% of people in Algeria live in cities, versus 61% in Mauritania
Algeria: 76% (2025) · Mauritania: 61% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Algeria has 115 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Mauritania 92
Algeria: 115 (2024) · Mauritania: 92 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Algeria’s railway network is 5.5 times as long as Mauritania’s
Algeria: 4,001 km (2021) · Mauritania: 728 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Algeria fly 2.4 times as many passengers per resident as those from Mauritania
Algeria: 0.15 (2023) · Mauritania: 0.06 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Mauritania and Algeria are practically level
Algeria: 0.7% (2024) · Mauritania: 1% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Algeria emits 4.2 times as much CO₂ as someone in Mauritania
Algeria: 4.2 t (2024) · Mauritania: 1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
23% of Mauritania’s electricity is renewable, versus 1.1% in Algeria
Algeria: 1.1% (2024) · Mauritania: 22.7% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Mauritania carries 2.4 times as much fine dust as in Algeria
Algeria: 14.4 µg/m³ (2024) · Mauritania: 35.2 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 16% more likely to be murdered in Algeria than in Mauritania
Algeria: 1.2 per 100k (2023) · Mauritania: 1 per 100k (2020)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Algeria are 3.4 times as deadly as in Mauritania
Algeria: 22.3 per 100k (2023) · Mauritania: 6.5 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Mauritania is on average 3.5 °C warmer than Algeria
Algeria: 24.7°C (2016–2025 avg) · Mauritania: 28.1°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Algeria gets 1% more rain than Mauritania
Algeria: 58 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Mauritania: 57 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Algeria bigger than Mauritania?
Algeria is larger. Mauritania fits inside Algeria 2.3 times.
Which has more people, Algeria or Mauritania?
Algeria has 8.9 times as many people as Mauritania (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Algeria or Mauritania?
People in Algeria live 7.8 years longer than in Mauritania. Life expectancy at birth is 76.5 years in Algeria and 68.7 in Mauritania.
Are people taller in Algeria or Mauritania?
Men in Algeria are 9.5 cm taller than in Mauritania (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
