Mauritania — Gay Travel Index 2026

Name: Mauritania — Gay Travel Index 2026
Creator: GayOut
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

7/100

Death-penalty risk #199 of 207

Score = Legal 7/60 + Scene 0/40 = 7/100 · thin scene coverage — legal-weighted provisional score

Updated 15 Oct 2026 · release 2026.3.

A live score, not an annual report — it recomputes as laws, rulings and the scene itself change. See what moved in 2026.

Legal composite · Legal milestones · Scene on the ground · Frequently asked questions

⚠ Criminalized — Death-penalty risk

Same-sex intimacy is criminalized or actively repressed here. Consult your government travel advisories before any trip; this listing is informational, not an endorsement of travel.

Legal composite — 7/60 points

Criminalization	Death penalty possible
Partnership	● No not recognised
Anti-discrimination	● No
Gender recognition	Not possible — no legal gender recognition
Enforcement reality	Active enforcement — arrests and prosecutions continue

Research note: death statute; 2025 kissing-video arrests (76crimes) — GayOut Index 2026.3 legal research (ILGA World / Human Dignity Trust / Rainbow Europe / Equaldex).

Legal composite, five components

Fulfilment per component (100 = maximum). Weights: criminalisation 35% · partnership 20% · enforcement 20% · anti-discrimination 15% · gender recognition 10%.

Legal milestones

Background, not travel advice — how the current status came to be. For planning a trip, rely on the current score, tier and scene sections above; 2026 movements are tracked in the sourced change log.

1983A Sharia-based criminal code imposed the death penalty by stoning for sexual acts between Muslim men. ↗
1986The last recorded execution for homosexuality took place; no executions have been documented since. ↗
2021The government confirmed an unofficial moratorium on death sentences for same-sex activity, though imprisonment continued. ↗
2025Two men were arrested after a video of them kissing circulated on social media. ↗
TodaySame-sex activity remained criminalised with the death penalty on the books, unenforced but backed by prison terms and fines. ↗

Sources: ILGA World · Human Dignity Trust · Equaldex. Each milestone links to a reference source ↗.

Scene on the ground — 0/40 points

LGBTQ+ venues listed

Dedicated gay bars

Gay saunas

Cities with a scene

Pride parades

Queer film festivals

Detailed scene metrics (for researchers)

Gay bars per million	—
Saunas per million	—
Events per million	—
Coverage grade	—
Scene score	0/40 (raw scene index 0/100)

Frequently asked questions

Is Mauritania safe for gay travellers?

Mauritania is rated Death-penalty risk on the GayOut Gay Travel Index 2026: same-sex intimacy is criminalized and can carry the death penalty. Its legal safety component is 7/60. On enforcement reality, arrests and prosecutions continue.

Is same-sex marriage legal in Mauritania?

No. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Mauritania. Overall legal status: Death penalty possible.

Does Mauritania have a gay scene?

GayOut currently lists no LGBTQ+ venues in Mauritania, so any gay scene is limited, informal or not publicly documented.