Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower middle income
Mauritania: the economy in numbers
Per person: $2,198, or $7,676 at purchasing power parity. Population: 5.32 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #152 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +4.4%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $1.72 billion in 1961, $11.7 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $2,028 per person in 1961, $2,198 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 3.9% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1962: 16 of 64.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 3.22 times from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 12.9% in 1989.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 2000: 71.1% of GDP in 2005. IMF forecast for 2031: 39.8%.
Population
1960: 824,298 · 2025: 5.32 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 10.0% · 2025: 10.3%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 43.6 years · 2024: 68.7 years.
Exports of goods and services
1961: 11.4% · 2025: 39.9%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 3.0%f | 4.0%f | 39.8%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 3.1%f | 4.0%f | 39.1%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 4.9%f | 4.0%f | 38.3%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 5.8%f | 4.8%f | 38.2%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 4.4%f | 7.2%f | 38.5%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 4.4%f | 8.0%f | 38.3%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $11.7B | $2,198 | $7,676 | 4.0% | 1.5% | 40.4% | 5.32M | 10.3% | 39.9% | |
| 2024 | $10.9B | $2,105 | $7,379 | 6.3% | 2.5% | 45.2% | 5.17M | 10.3% | 68.7 | 41.4% |
| 2023 | $10.7B | $2,128 | $6,972 | 6.8% | 5.0% | 48.6% | 5.02M | 10.4% | 68.5 | 38.4% |
| 2022 | $9.56B | $1,961 | $6,484 | 6.8% | 9.5% | 50.1% | 4.88M | 10.5% | 68.3 | 39.7% |
| 2021 | $9.22B | $1,947 | $5,837 | 0.7% | 3.6% | 54.5% | 4.73M | 11.1% | 66.8 | 39.9% |
| 2020 | $8.26B | $1,796 | $5,741 | −0.4% | 2.4% | 56.5% | 4.6M | 11.1% | 66.8 | 41.4% |
| 2019 | $7.89B | $1,767 | $5,610 | 3.1% | 2.3% | 57.7% | 4.47M | 10.4% | 67.6 | 42.4% |
| 2018 | $7.48B | $1,723 | $5,429 | 4.8% | 3.1% | 59.2% | 4.34M | 10.4% | 67.4 | 36.6% |
| 2017 | $6.81B | $1,618 | $5,353 | 6.3% | 2.3% | 55.7% | 4.21M | 10.3% | 67.1 | 34.5% |
| 2016 | $6.41B | $1,568 | $4,683 | 1.3% | 1.5% | 57.6% | 4.09M | 10.3% | 66.8 | 33.9% |
| 2015 | $6.18B | $1,559 | $3,978 | 5.4% | 3.3% | 59.9% | 3.97M | 10.1% | 66.5 | 30.2% |
| 2014 | $6.62B | $1,719 | $3,865 | 4.3% | 3.5% | 49.5% | 3.85M | 10.0% | 66.2 | 37.4% |
| 2013 | $7.23B | $1,936 | $3,831 | 4.2% | 4.1% | 40.7% | 3.73M | 9.9% | 65.9 | 45.5% |
| 2012 | $6.73B | $1,859 | $3,465 | 4.5% | 4.9% | 39.3% | 3.62M | 9.9% | 65.8 | 48.3% |
| 2011 | $6.76B | $1,931 | $3,271 | 4.2% | 5.7% | 38.8% | 3.5M | 10.0% | 65.8 | 50.2% |
| 2010 | $5.63B | $1,660 | $3,178 | 2.6% | 6.3% | 43.9% | 3.39M | 10.1% | 65.7 | 45.7% |
| 2009 | $4.71B | $1,435 | $3,159 | 0.1% | 2.2% | 54.3% | 3.28M | 10.2% | 65.5 | 37.2% |
| 2008 | $5.21B | $1,636 | $3,236 | −0.3% | 7.3% | 57.2% | 3.18M | 9.7% | 65.2 | 41.6% |
| 2007 | $4.35B | $1,405 | $3,278 | −2.0% | 7.3% | 61.5% | 3.09M | 9.5% | 64.9 | 40.5% |
| 2006 | $3.92B | $1,301 | $3,342 | 18.3% | 6.2% | 38.0% | 3.01M | 9.3% | 64.5 | 42.4% |
| 2005 | $2.94B | $999 | $2,809 | 8.6% | 12.1% | 71.1% | 2.94M | 9.6% | 63.9 | 26.8% |
| 2004 | $2.36B | $824 | $2,570 | 4.7% | 10.4% | 22.0% | 2.87M | 9.8% | 63.4 | 23.3% |
| 2003 | $2.05B | $732 | $2,447 | 6.9% | 5.2% | 22.9% | 2.8M | 9.9% | 62.8 | 19.1% |
| 2002 | $1.78B | $649 | $2,296 | 1.4% | 3.9% | 59.5% | 2.74M | 10.2% | 62.2 | 24.8% |
| 2001 | $1.75B | $652 | $2,280 | −0.8% | 4.7% | 63.5% | 2.68M | 10.1% | 61.7 | 25.5% |
| 2000 | $1.78B | $681 | $2,304 | −3.9% | 3.3% | 55.5% | 2.61M | 10.0% | 61.0 | 25.5% |
| 1999 | $1.99B | $781 | $2,411 | 3.7% | 4.1% | 2.54M | 10.0% | 60.4 | 22.6% | |
| 1998 | $2.03B | $821 | $2,355 | 2.8% | 8.0% | 2.47M | 10.0% | 59.9 | 24.5% | |
| 1997 | $2.07B | $859 | $2,325 | −4.0% | 4.6% | 2.41M | 9.8% | 59.4 | 33.4% | |
| 1996 | $2.13B | $904 | $2,436 | 5.8% | 4.7% | 2.36M | 9.8% | 58.9 | 39.2% | |
| 1995 | $2.09B | $905 | $2,306 | 9.8% | 6.5% | 2.31M | 9.8% | 58.9 | 41.5% | |
| 1994 | $1.94B | $865 | $2,114 | −3.1% | 4.1% | 2.25M | 10.0% | 58.8 | 34.7% | |
| 1993 | $1.85B | $850 | $2,209 | 5.9% | 9.4% | 2.17M | 9.8% | 58.7 | 25.4% | |
| 1992 | $2.16B | $1,036 | $2,122 | 1.9% | 10.1% | 2.09M | 10.1% | 58.6 | 22.4% | |
| 1991 | $2.13B | $1,062 | $2,116 | 1.8% | 5.6% | 2.01M | 10.0% | 58.3 | 27.5% | |
| 1990 | $1.51B | $772 | $2,070 | −1.8% | 6.6% | 1.95M | 58.1 | 36.2% | ||
| 1989 | $1.45B | $762 | 4.8% | 12.9% | 1.9M | 57.7 | 39.5% | |||
| 1988 | $1.41B | $762 | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.86M | 57.5 | 39.8% | |||
| 1987 | $1.34B | $746 | 1.9% | 8.2% | 1.8M | 57.0 | 38.9% | |||
| 1986 | $1.19B | $677 | 5.7% | 7.4% | 1.75M | 56.3 | 44.5% | |||
| 1985 | $1.01B | $593 | 3.0% | 1.7M | 55.8 | 47.5% | ||||
| 1984 | $1.07B | $650 | −3.2% | 1.65M | 55.2 | 36.1% | ||||
| 1983 | $1.17B | $725 | 3.7% | 1.61M | 54.6 | 36.3% | ||||
| 1982 | $1.11B | $710 | −2.3% | 1.56M | 54.2 | 31.8% | ||||
| 1981 | $1.11B | $729 | 3.5% | 1.52M | 53.7 | 35.7% | ||||
| 1980 | $1.05B | $711 | 3.4% | 1.47M | 53.2 | 29.2% | ||||
| 1979 | $952M | $664 | 4.8% | 1.43M | 52.8 | 26.3% | ||||
| 1978 | $805M | $578 | −0.5% | 1.39M | 52.3 | 26.4% | ||||
| 1977 | $799M | $590 | −1.9% | 1.35M | 52.0 | 26.0% | ||||
| 1976 | $775M | $589 | 8.5% | 1.32M | 51.8 | 30.1% | ||||
| 1975 | $703M | $551 | −5.1% | 1.28M | 51.6 | 30.5% | ||||
| 1974 | $613M | $494 | 12.2% | 1.24M | 51.4 | 38.3% | ||||
| 1973 | $493M | $410 | −4.6% | 1.2M | 51.2 | 37.1% | ||||
| 1972 | $392M | $335 | −0.7% | 1.17M | 51.0 | 38.2% | ||||
| 1971 | $336M | $296 | 1.8% | 1.13M | 50.8 | 31.9% | ||||
| 1970 | $309M | $281 | 12.0% | 1.1M | 50.5 | 32.4% | ||||
| 1969 | $295M | $277 | 1.2% | 1.07M | 50.1 | 30.8% | ||||
| 1968 | $311M | $301 | 10.2% | 1.03M | 49.5 | 30.1% | ||||
| 1967 | $283M | $282 | 3.6% | 1.0M | 48.9 | 33.0% | ||||
| 1966 | $267M | $274 | 0.2% | 974K | 48.1 | 34.1% | ||||
| 1965 | $255M | $270 | 16.1% | 946K | 47.4 | 33.4% | ||||
| 1964 | $224M | $244 | 27.7% | 919K | 46.6 | 34.5% | ||||
| 1963 | $168M | $188 | −2.0% | 893K | 45.8 | 20.0% | ||||
| 1962 | $164M | $189 | 0.7% | 869K | 45.0 | 11.5% | ||||
| 1961 | $159M | $188 | 846K | 44.3 | 11.4% | |||||
| 1960 | 824K | 43.6 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)