Literacy Rate: Mauritania

Analysis# Mauritania Literacy Rate Mauritania's literacy rate stood at 59.53% in 2020, representing substantial progress since the turn of the century when just 51.21% of the population could read and write. The country achieved its peak performance of 65.11% in 2015, marking a significant 16.2 percentage point gain over the two-decade period. Despite this long-term improvement, the 2020 figure reveals a recent decline from the 2015 high point. The literacy trajectory shows rapid gains through the mid-2010s, with the rate climbing from 62.07% in 2013 to 65.11% by 2015. The subsequent five-year drop to 59.53% suggests potential challenges in educational access or measurement consistency. This recent downward movement, while notable, does not erase decades of cumulative progress toward universal literacy.