Country Foundations

Mauritania

Constitution in force since 1991, 6,997 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
63%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
52%
mean across compared rights
Gap
−11%
delivers less than promised
Executive respects constitution
71%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 74%, gap +74%Right to life0%74%+74%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 57%, gap −43%Freedom from torture100%57%−43%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 44%, gap −56%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%44%−56%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 59%, gap −41%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%59%−41%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 0%, practiced 54%, gap +54%Right to a fair and public trial0%54%+54%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 46%, gap −54%Due process of law100%46%−54%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 62%, gap −38%Freedom of expression100%62%−38%Freedom of the press — declared 0%, practiced 59%, gap +59%Freedom of the press0%59%+59%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 67%, gap −33%Freedom of thought and conscience100%67%−33%Freedom of religion — declared 0%, practiced 37%, gap +37%Freedom of religion0%37%+37%Separation of religion and state — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure0%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 54%, gap +54%Academic freedom0%54%+54%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 47%, gap −53%Freedom of assembly100%47%−53%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 53%, gap −47%Freedom of association100%53%−47%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 100%, practiced 51%, gap −49%Right to form and join trade unions100%51%−49%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 72%, gap +22%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%72%+22%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 48%, gap −52%Right to privacy100%48%−52%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 77%, gap −23%Freedom of movement100%77%−23%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 100%, practiced 74%, gap −26%Right to own property100%74%−26%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 44%, gap −56%Equality before the law100%44%−56%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 23%, gap +23%Right to education0%23%+23%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 41%, gap +41%Right to health care0%41%+41%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 32%, gap +32%Right to shelter or housing0%32%+32%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 31%, gap −69%Independent judiciary100%31%−69%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001978: constitutional text changed (+26 pts declared)1985: constitutional text changed (−50 pts declared)1991: constitutional text changed (+54 pts declared)2012: constitutional text changed (+7 pts declared)19752000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1961–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom from torture −43%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour −56%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −41%
  • Due process of law −54%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +74%
  • Right to a fair and public trial +54%
  • Freedom of the press +59%
  • Freedom of religion +37%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 2004
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 2004
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1988
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 2001
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 2004
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1991
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2012
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2012
Migrant Workers (ICMW)ratified 2007

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.