Mauritania
Mauritania, in long form the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a state in northwest Africa.
General presentation
Official name: Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Type of regime: Islamic Republic
Surface area: 1,030,700 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi)
Capital: Nouakchott
Main cities: Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, Rosso.
Official language(s): Arabic
National holiday: November 28
Population: 4.5 million (World Bank, 2019)
Density: 4.3 inhabitants per square kilometer
Population growth: 2.8% (World Bank, 2018)
Urban population growth: 4.4
Literacy rate: 46% (2014)
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Economic situation
Mauritania benefited from a favorable international environment in 2019, amid rising prices for the country’s mineral exports and a small increase in imported oil prices. According to World Bank data, economic growth increased significantly from 3.6 percent in 2018 to 5.9 percent in 2019. Growth forecasts for 2020, initially estimated at 6.3 percent, were not met due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mauritania’s GDP is expected to contract by 3.2 percent in 2020.
Inflation increased from 2.3 percent in 2019 to 3.9 percent in 2020. After budget surpluses in 2018 (3.3 percent of GDP) and 2019 (2.1 percent), the rectifying finance law for 2020 in May forecast a deficit of 5 percent of GDP. The country has also moved up in the World Bank’s annual Doing business ranking, from 176th place in 2015 to 148th in 2019. The debt service to budget revenue ratio stands at 14.8 percent of GDP in 2020. Although public debt is sustainable (65.8 percent of GDP in 2020), the overall and external risk of debt distress remains high. The banking sector also remains at risk of liquidity shortages, despite the new instruments introduced by the Mauritanian Central Bank.
Economic activity is expected to rebound in 2021-2022 thanks to a resumption of foreign direct investment (FDI) and an increase in extractive production. Initially expected in 2022, the first revenues from the gas discovered off the coast may not be received until 2023.
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Bilateral Relations
Bilateral investment treaties
Work in process
Double taxation agreements
Work in process
Free trade agreements
Work in process
Leading sector for Swiss companies
Work in process
Indicators
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 E | 2019 E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (in billions of USD) | 4.69 e | 4.94 e | 5.20 5.24 | |
| GDP per capita (USD) | 1 235 e | 1 271 e | 1.310 | 1.292 |
| Growth rate | 1.8 e | 3.5 e | 2.5 | 5.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 11.66 | 11.8 | ||
| Inflation rate | 1.5 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
| Public debt (% of GDP) | 100.01 | 96.574 | 97.518 | 81.138 |
| Budget balance (% of GDP) | -0.71 e | -0.71 e | -0.83 | 0.90 |
| Current account balance (% of GDP) | -15.1 e | -14.4 e | -16. | -17. |
(Sources FMI, Banque Mondiale)
Main customers
China, Italy, Spain
Source: IMF
Main suppliers
China, Netherlands, France, Spain
Source: IMF
Swiss exports to
Work in process
Exports of …. to Switzerland
Work in process
Swiss direct investment in
Work in process
The business climate
Work in process