Mauritania Economy - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Economic overview

lower middle-income West African economy; primarily agrarian; rising urbanization; poor property rights; systemic corruption; endemic social and workforce tensions; wide-scale terrorism; foreign over-fishing; environmentally fragile

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$24.494 billion (2021 est.)

$23.909 billion (2020 est.)

$24.136 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

2.45% (2021 est.)

-0.94% (2020 est.)

5.3% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$5,300 (2021 est.)

$5,300 (2020 est.)

$5,500 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$706 million (2018 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.57% (2021 est.)

2.39% (2020 est.)

2.3% (2019 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 27.8% (2017 est.)

industry: 29.3% (2017 est.)

services: 42.9% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 64.9% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 21.8% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 56.1% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: -3.2% (2017 est.)

exports of goods and services: 39% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services: -78.6% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

rice, milk, goat milk, sheep milk, sorghum, mutton, beef, camel milk, camel meat, dates

Industries

fish processing, oil production, mining (iron ore, gold, copper)

note: gypsum deposits have never been exploited

Industrial production growth rate

-6.61% (2021 est.)

Labor force

1.197 million (2021 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 50%

industry: 1.9%

services: 48.1% (2014 est.)

Unemployment rate

11.46% (2021 est.)

11.27% (2020 est.)

10.39% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 23%

male: 20.8%

female: 27.9% (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

31% (2014 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

32.6 (2014 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.5%

highest 10%: 29.5% (2000)

Budget

revenues: $1.617 billion (2019 est.)

expenditures: $1.407 billion (2019 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

96.6% of GDP (2017 est.)

100% of GDP (2016 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

27.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

-$807.862 million (2021 est.)

-$576.175 million (2020 est.)

-$831.106 million (2019 est.)

Exports

$3.18 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$2.784 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$2.525 billion (2019 est.)

Exports - partners

China 32%, Switzerland 13%, Spain 9%, Japan 9%, Italy 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

iron ore, gold, mollusks and shellfish, frozen fish, copper ore (2021)

Imports

$4.312 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$3.675 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$3.683 billion (2019 est.)

Imports - partners

China 26%, France 6%, Spain 6%, Morocco 6%, United Arab Emirates 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

ships, aircraft, wheat, raw sugar, refined petroleum (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$2.039 billion (31 December 2021 est.)

$1.493 billion (31 December 2020 est.)

$1.029 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

Debt - external

$4.15 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$3.899 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Exchange rates

ouguiyas (MRO) per US dollar -

36.063 (2021 est.)

37.189 (2020 est.)

36.691 (2019 est.)

35.678 (2018 est.)

35.794 (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Mauritania on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mauritania 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mauritania 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.