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Level 3Avoid non-essential travel
Updated: Sep 24, 2026 Source
Last successfully checked: Oct 1, 2026
Last update: October 10, 2026
Updated dailyIs It Safe to Travel to Mauritania Right Now?
Exercise caution
6 6.1 out of 10
Safety Score
Last updated: October 10, 2026 92% data coverage
Mauritania has a safety score of 6.1/10 as of October 10, 2026, rated as Moderate risk and ranking 183rd out of 248 countries worldwide. The biggest concern is governance (2.8/10), while the strongest area is crime (6.6/10). It combines 19 government travel advisories and 5 other public datasets and is recalculated daily.
What are the safety risk areas?
Governance 2.8/10
Environment 4.7/10
Health 6.1/10
Conflict 6.6/10
Crime 6.6/10
Indicator-level detail
Governance 2.8/10 · High · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| V-Dem Rule of Law Index | 1.2/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| V-Dem Public Administration Quality | 3.7/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| V-Dem Political Corruption (inverted) | 1.8/10 | vdem | 2025 |
| INFORM Governance Index | 3.2/10 | inform | 2026 |
Environment 4.7/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 60%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank Air Pollution (PM2.5) | 5.3/10 | worldbank | 2023 |
| INFORM Natural Hazard Risk | 5.2/10 | inform | 2026 |
| INFORM Climate Risk | 3.9/10 | inform | 2026 |
Health 6.1/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Bank Child Mortality Rate | 8.2/10 | worldbank | 2024 |
| INFORM Health Risk Index | 8.3/10 | inform | 2026 |
| INFORM Epidemic Risk Index | 3.7/10 | inform | 2026 |
Conflict 6.6/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Peace Index - Overall Score | 6.1/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| GPI Militarisation Score | 6.9/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| UCDP Conflict-Death Count (log-normalized) | 10.0/10 | ucdp | 2025 |
Crime 6.6/10 · Moderate · Coverage: 100%
| Indicators | Value | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPI Safety & Security Score | 6.0/10 | gpi | 2026 |
| World Bank Intentional-Homicide Rate (population-reliability scaled) | 9.8/10 | worldbank | 2020 |
See how these scores are calculated on the Methodology page.
Community Sentiment
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What do governments say?
Sources (19)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to travel to Mauritania in 2026?
Yes, with some caution — Mauritania is reasonably safe for most travelers: as of October 2026 it scores 6.1/10 on our daily safety index, classified as Moderate risk. Stay alert to the specific risks below.
The score is an uncertainty-weighted (Bayesian shrinkage) geometric mean of five pillars: conflict (30%), crime (25%), health (20%), governance (15%) and environment (10%). A weak pillar drags the overall score down more than a strong one lifts it, and the mix also folds in a calibrated consensus of government travel advisories.
Thin or stale data pulls a country's score toward a cautious regional baseline instead of guessing — see our methodology page for the full statistical detail. crime (6.6/10) is Mauritania's strongest pillar, while the score is pulled down by environment (4.7/10) and above all by governance (2.8/10).
This pillar gauges the rule of law and the reliability of institutions — a low score means police and courts may offer limited help if something goes wrong. It combines 19 government travel advisories and 5 other public datasets and is recalculated daily.
What is the biggest risk when traveling to Mauritania?
The main concern for Mauritania is governance, its weakest pillar at 2.8/10. This pillar gauges the rule of law and the reliability of institutions — a low score means police and courts may offer limited help if something goes wrong.
The lowest-scoring signals here are rule of law (V-Dem) and control of corruption (V-Dem). The second-lowest area is environment at 4.7/10, so it deserves attention too.
By contrast, crime scores 6.6/10 and is Mauritania's strongest area.
What do government travel advisories say about Mauritania?
As of October 2026, Mauritania has 19 government travel advisories on record. The prevailing guidance is to exercise increased caution when visiting Mauritania; the strongest current warning — do not travel — comes from Taiwan.
How does Mauritania compare to nearby countries?
| Country | Score | Conflict | Crime | Health | Governance | Environment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mauritius | 7.9 | 8.5 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 7.6 |
| Seychelles | 7.9 | 8.5 | 6.4 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.9 |
| Cabo Verde | 7.7 | 8.2 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 6.2 | 7.7 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 7.6 | 8.1 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 7.9 |
| Mauritania | 6.1 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 4.7 |
Mauritania and its neighbouring countries
Related Countries
Similar safety scores
How has the safety score changed over time?
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Where does the data come from?
- advisoriesFresh
Travel advisories from 19 governments: US State Department, UK FCDO, Government of Canada, Australian Government, German Federal Foreign Office, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand SafeTravel, Ireland Department of Foreign Affairs, Austrian Federal Ministry (BMEIA), Belgium Federal Public Service, Serbia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italy Viaggiare Sicuri, Taiwan Bureau of Consular Affairs, Switzerland Federal Department (EDA), Poland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Czech Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Hungary Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- gpiFresh
Global Peace Index -- annual peacefulness ranking by IEP
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- informFresh
INFORM Risk Index -- hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity
Data vintage: 2026Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- ucdpFresh
UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (Uppsala Conflict Data Program) -- state-based and one-sided conflict deaths, via the Our World in Data mirror (CC-BY)
Data vintage: 2025Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- vdemFresh
V-Dem Institute Country-Year Dataset v16 (CC-BY-SA 4.0) -- Rule of Law, Political Corruption, and Public Administration indices (Coppedge et al., DOI 10.23696/vdemds26)
Data vintage: 2025Checked: Oct 10, 2026
- worldbankRecent
World Bank Development Indicators -- child mortality and PM2.5 air pollution
Data vintage: 2020–2024Checked: Oct 10, 2026