Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Cape Verde fits inside Mauritania 256 times.
Cape Verde: 4,030 km² (2023) · Mauritania: 1,030,700 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Cape Verde’s coastline is 28% longer than Mauritania’s.
Cape Verde: 965 km (2026 edition) · Mauritania: 754 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Cape Verde’s highest peak towers 1,914 m above Mauritania’s.
Cape Verde: 2,829 m (2026 edition) · Mauritania: 915 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Mauritania has 10 times as many people as Cape Verde.
Cape Verde: 527,326 (2025) · Mauritania: 5.32 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Cape Verde is 25 times as densely populated as Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 131 per km² (2025) · Mauritania: 5 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Cape Verde are 10.8 cm taller than in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 176.3 cm (2019) · Mauritania: 165.5 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Cape Verde are 3.0 cm taller than in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 163.1 cm (2019) · Mauritania: 160.1 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Cape Verde is 11 years older than in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 27.9 years (2023) · Mauritania: 17.1 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Mauritania have 3.1 more children on average than in Cape Verde.
Cape Verde: 1.51 children per woman (2024) · Mauritania: 4.63 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
7.2% of people in Cape Verde are 65 or older, versus 3.2% in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 7.2% (2025) · Mauritania: 3.2% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Cape Verde: no data · Mauritania: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Cape Verde and Mauritania are practically level.
Cape Verde: 1 (2026) · Mauritania: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Mauritania’s economy is 3.8 times the size of Cape Verde’s.
Cape Verde: $3.06 billion (2025) · Mauritania: $11.7 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Cape Verde produces 58% more per person than Mauritania.
Cape Verde: Int$12,165 (2025) · Mauritania: Int$7,676 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Cape Verde than in Mauritania (Gini 10.4 points higher).
Cape Verde: 42.4 (2015) · Mauritania: 32 (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 12% in Cape Verde, versus 10% in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 11.9% (2025) · Mauritania: 10.3% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Mauritania spends 2.2% of its GDP on the military, Cape Verde 0.6%.
Cape Verde: 0.6% (2024) · Mauritania: 2.2% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Cape Verde’s price level (US = 100) is 1.7× Mauritania’s.
Cape Verde: 48% (2025) · Mauritania: 29% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Cape Verde spends 3.1 times as much on health per person as Mauritania.
Cape Verde: $290 (2023) · Mauritania: $92 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Cape Verde live 7.5 years longer than in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 76.2 years (2024) · Mauritania: 68.7 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Mauritania is 2.8 times as likely to die before turning one as in Cape Verde.
Cape Verde: 10.6 per 1,000 (2024) · Mauritania: 30.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Cape Verde has 2.8 times as many doctors per person as Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 0.7 per 1,000 (2023) · Mauritania: 0.3 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
22% of adults in Mauritania are obese, versus 17% in Cape Verde.
Cape Verde: 16.5% (2024) · Mauritania: 22.1% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
10% of adults in Cape Verde smoke, versus 9.9% in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 10.4% (2024) · Mauritania: 9.9% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
Cape Verde: no data · Mauritania: 4.47 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Cape Verde drink 2,467 times as much alcohol as in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 4.1 litres (2023) · Mauritania: 0.0017 litres (2019)
How much meat is on the menu?
Cape Verde has 20% more meat per person than Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 43.8 kg (2023) · Mauritania: 36.5 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Mauritania has 116 kcal more food per person per day than Cape Verde.
Cape Verde: 2,794 kcal (2023) · Mauritania: 2,909 kcal (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Cape Verde went to school 1.2 years longer than in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 6.1 years (2023) · Mauritania: 4.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Cape Verde: 1.51 (2022) · Mauritania: no data
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
75% of people in Cape Verde are online, versus 46% in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 75% (2024) · Mauritania: 46% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
98% of people in Cape Verde have electricity, versus 52% in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 98.4% (2024) · Mauritania: 52.2% (2024)
How many live in cities?
78% of people in Cape Verde live in cities, versus 61% in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 78% (2025) · Mauritania: 61% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Cape Verde has 112 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Mauritania 92.
Cape Verde: 112 (2024) · Mauritania: 92 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Cape Verde: no data · Mauritania: 728 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Cape Verde fly 2.2 times as many passengers per resident as those from Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 0.14 (2023) · Mauritania: 0.06 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 12% of Cape Verde, but only 0.3% of Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 11.6% (2023) · Mauritania: 0.3% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Cape Verde emits 12% more CO₂ than someone in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 1.1 t (2024) · Mauritania: 1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
31% of Cape Verde’s electricity is renewable, versus 23% in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 30.8% (2024) · Mauritania: 22.7% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Mauritania carries 2.1 times as much fine dust as in Cape Verde.
Cape Verde: 17 µg/m³ (2024) · Mauritania: 35.2 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 7 times as likely to be murdered in Cape Verde as in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 7 per 100k (2020) · Mauritania: 1 per 100k (2020)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Cape Verde are 74% deadlier than in Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 16.5 per 100k (2021) · Mauritania: 9.5 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Mauritania is on average 5.2 °C warmer than Cape Verde.
Cape Verde: 23°C (2016–2025 avg) · Mauritania: 28.1°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Cape Verde gets 3 times as much rain as Mauritania.
Cape Verde: 171 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Mauritania: 57 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Cape Verde bigger than Mauritania?
Mauritania is larger. Cape Verde fits inside Mauritania 256 times.
Which has more people, Cape Verde or Mauritania?
Mauritania has 10 times as many people as Cape Verde (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Cape Verde or Mauritania?
People in Cape Verde live 7.5 years longer than in Mauritania. Life expectancy at birth is 76.2 years in Cape Verde and 68.7 in Mauritania.
Are people taller in Cape Verde or Mauritania?
Men in Cape Verde are 10.8 cm taller than in Mauritania (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
