The World Bank in Mauritania

Mauritania is predominantly a desert country, with vast stretches of pastoral land and only 0.5% arable land. The population is estimated at around 5 million (2024), and with a density of 5 inhabitants per square kilometer, it is one of the least densely populated countries in the world. In addition, more than half of Mauritanians (61.3%) live in urban areas (2024).

Political Context

Mauritania continues to pursue institutional and socio-economic reforms following the re-election of President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani in June 2024. The government has transitioned from the “Mes engagements” program to a broader strategic framework titled “Mon ambition pour la nation”, which is organized around five key pillars: institutional governance, economic resilience, human capital development, social inclusion, and security.

The country has become a significant transit point in regional migration flows. The government, in coordination with international partners, is working to strengthen migration management and ensure the protection of vulnerable populations. Additionally, as of mid- 2025, Mauritania hosts over 169,000 refugees and 7,000 asylum seekers, primarily from Mali, with the Mbera refugee camp now constituting the second largest center of population in the country.

Social Context

According to Mauritania’s Human Capital Index (HCI), a child born today is expected to reach only 38% of their potential productivity by adulthood. The learning-adjusted years of schooling average 4.2 years per child, and 25% of children experience stunting—underscoring the need for continued investment in early childhood development, health, and education. These structural weaknesses disproportionately affect women and girls, restricting their human capital and limiting their ability to benefit from and contribute to growth. While public spending in these sectors remains relatively modest, ongoing reforms and strategic programs offer a pathway to improved outcomes. Social assistance spending is comparatively high (7.5% of GDP), and existing safety net programs reach 47% of the poorest quintile—providing a strong foundation to further expand inclusive and adaptive social protection systems.

Economy

Economic Context

Mauritania’s economy slowed to 6.3% in 2024 (3.2% per capita), reflecting weaker extractive output and lower public consumption. This was partially offset by strong investment in GTA infrastructure and robust exports. Additionally, inflation eased to 2.5% in 2024 from 5.0% in 2023, supported by declining food and fuel prices and a cautious monetary stance. This environment offers space to recalibrate policies to support inclusive growth.

The fiscal deficit narrowed to 1.2% of GDP,  driven by improved revenue from digitalized tax administration and new levies, combined with restraint in recurrent spending. Public debt declined to 47.0% of GDP, supported by fiscal prudence, exchange rate stability, declining nominal external debt, and stronger nominal GDP growth. Mauritania remains at moderate risk of debt distress, with scope to strengthen debt management frameworks.

Looking ahead, growth is projected to slow to 5.3% in 2025, before rebounding to an average of 5.6% over 2026-27 as gas production scales up. Inflation is projected to rise gradually, and the poverty rate may edge up due to higher inflation, population growth, and slower agricultural expansion, underscoring the need for targeted interventions.

Mauritania’s reform agenda—including fiscal modernization, climate-aligned taxation, and adaptive social protection—provides a foundation to address structural challenges. Continued efforts to diversify the economy, deepen domestic capital markets, and improve public financial management will be essential to enhance resilience and ensure that growth translates into broader welfare gains.

Last Updated: Oct 09, 2025

Country Partnership

In 2024, the World Bank celebrated sixty years of partnership with the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

Looking ahead, the World Bank is preparing a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with the Government of Mauritania, covering the period FY2025–2030. This forthcoming CPF will outline strategic priorities to support Mauritania’s development ambitions, with a focus on fostering sustainable and inclusive growth. Building on decades of collaboration, the new framework marks a renewed commitment to deepening the partnership and aligning with the country’s evolving needs and opportunities.

The current World Bank portfolio in Mauritania includes 9 national projects (including the first Program-for-Results (PforR) in public spending, one (1) Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO), and 9 regional operations, for a total commitment of $1123.8 million.

Further engagements are expected through new operations in education and social safety nets, delivered in the form of Program-for-Results (PforR), as well as a Development Project Financing (DPF) operation focused on  public finance management and inclusive growth, and a regional operation in the Environment, Natural Resources & the Blue Economy sector.

IFC / MIGA

The commitments of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) totaled $80 million, while the gross commitments of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) amounted to $300 million as of July 31, 2025.

Last Updated: Oct 09, 2025

Development

Supporting cities as engines of growth and job creation

The Decentralization and Productive Intermediate Cities Project contributes to access to services and infrastructure in selected secondary cities in the south and east of the country and provides technical support to the decentralization process. The project also invests in strengthening resilience to climate risks, which are increasingly affecting people’s lives and livelihoods.

Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Poverty

The Social Safety Net Project supports the government’s social protection strategy aimed at protecting poor and vulnerable households and investing in their human capital, thereby helping to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. One of the key instruments, The Social Registry (RS) aims to support the identification of potential beneficiaries and provide an effective and transparent mechanism to target the poor and vulnerable. The RS has achieved nationwide coverage, encompassing comprehensive data on 348,170 households. The complete update of the registry data, which introduced new data collection processes and expanded continues to be a valuable tool for 25 governmental and non-governmental users. The Tekavoul social transfer program covers 131,012 extremely poor households, with 54,664 financed by the project and 76,348 by the government budget.

The Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend+ Project (SWEDD+) builds on the achievements of the first two phases of the SWEDD program (2016–2024) to accelerate progress in gender equality and human capital development. With $20 million in IDA financing from the World Bank through December 31, 2028, the project seeks to expand girls’ and women’s access to education, economic opportunities, and reproductive health services, while strengthening institutional capacity to promote gender equity and women’s empowerment. In Mauritania, nearly 360,000 adolescent girls aged 10–19 is eligible to benefit from safe spaces, and more than 400,000 girls aged 5–14 those of compulsory school age stand to gain from improved access to learning opportunities. Covering regions representing nearly 54% of the national population, SWEDD+ adopts a participatory, multisectoral approach engaging adolescent girls, women, young men, schools, health facilities, and training institutions to strengthen human capital and promote inclusive growth.

The Regional Sahel Pastoralism Support Project (PRAPS) addresses key drivers of vulnerability among (agro)pastoral communities in the Sahel to strengthen their resilience through interventions aimed at improving animal health, natural resource management, livestock value chain development, and social and economic inclusion, with a particular focus on women and youth. The livestock sector is critical to the economy, rural development, and poverty reduction, contributing between 14 and 16% of Mauritania’s GDP. More than 1.35 million people are expected to benefit from the project’s second phase (2022–2027) in the country, with total financing of $45 million from IDA. An additional $42 million in financing was approved in June 2022 to support short-term recovery and scale up resilience interventions in response to severe food insecurity and flooding.

Last Updated: Oct 09, 2025