Life stages in Mauritania

Mauritania has no single national service covering all life stages. Different institutions handle different needs. The civil-registration system records births through the Agence Nationale du Registre des Populations et des Titres Sécurisés, using Centres d’Accueil des Citoyens. Birth registration is legally required within 60 days, and the registration itself is free, although obtaining a birth certificate can cost money. The certificate supports identification and school access, while late reporting can lead to imprisonment of one to six months and or a fine. Children are legally under 18 under the 2018 Child Protection Code. Their rights include identity, education, protection and social security. Education can continue through preschool, fundamental education, collège, lycée and higher education, alongside Mahadra education, literacy programmes and other non-formal pathways. School access remains uneven: distance, transport, food and material costs, incomplete schools, poverty, child labour and early marriage interrupt attendance. Secondary participation and collège access are substantially lower in some rural regions than in better-served areas. Adolescence is commonly defined as ages 10 to 19, while youth programmes often focus on ages 15 to 24. A young person may move from collège or lycée to the baccalauréat, higher education, technical and vocational training, apprenticeship or work. ANAPEJ provides public youth employment support. SAFIA offers a second educational opportunity with literacy, life skills, practical training, employability support and psychosocial assistance, but access depends on the programme location and available places rather than a universal entitlement. Work and social protection change with employment status. Mauritania’s labour rules generally allow regular work from age 14, while children aged 12 or 13 may work only in a family business with ministerial authorisation and outside school hours. Hazardous work is prohibited for people under 18, although child labour remains relevant, especially in rural areas. The Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale provides contributory protection for family benefits, work-related risks, old age, disability and death. Informal workers often remain outside these arrangements. The National Social Protection Strategy 2025–2035 combines social assistance, social insurance, productive inclusion and crisis response, but it does not create immediate universal coverage. Older-age support combines household and community assistance with targeted public programmes and contributory pensions. MASEF and its social-action services are responsible for national older-person protection and social assistance. Official reform communication reports a pension age of 63, while older CNSS information still refers to 60 for men and 55 for women. The applicable rule and minimum insurance or employment period therefore require case-specific verification. No reliable evidence establishes a universal non-contributory old-age pension or a nationwide public long-term-care pathway. Disability and care dependency are addressed through social assistance, disability cards, rehabilitation centres, technical aids, CNSS disability benefits and selected cash support. The Centre de Formation et de Promotion Sociale des Enfants en Situation de Handicap and the Centre National d’Orthopédie et de Rééducation Fonctionnelle provide specialised functions, but access is territorially and quantitatively limited. Families remain central to daily care. The Registre Social, Tekavoul and related programmes can connect eligible households with assistance, although access depends on registration and programme rules. Drought, floods, poverty, school dropout, violence, loss of family support and displacement can disrupt several transitions at once. The Registre Social, Tekavoul, Elmaouna shock transfers, the Dispositif Communautaire d’Alerte et de Nutrition and national emergency planning provide parts of the response. Refugees can be included in the Registre Social and national protection programmes. In Hodh Chargui and M’bera, education integration, Mahadra, reintegration, child-friendly spaces and psychosocial protection support children and young people, but documents, distance, funding and limited protection capacity still restrict access.