Country Brief

Last updated September 2009

Background and political overview

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania covers an area stretching over 1,030,700 square kilometers. With a relatively low population density (2.9 inhabitants per square kilometer, for a total population of approximately 3 million), the country is a "bridge" between North Africa and the sub-Saharan part of the continent. Mauritania’s landscape is semi-desert, especially in the northern part of the country. The climate is Saharan in the north and Sahelian in the south, generally warm and dry with highs exceeding 44 ° C in mid-June, and lows of up to 10 ° C in January and February. Most of the country receives rainfall of less than 300 mm a year. A former French colony, Mauritania gained independence on November 28, 1960.  

The country’s political landscape has been marked since 2005 by a series of coups and democratic transitions. The first transition took place between 2005 and 2007, following the coup of August 3, 2005 that ended 21 years of power under Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. A democratic transition took place and lasted 19 months, leading to parliamentary elections in 2006, followed by a presidential poll in 2007 that led to the election of Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi as head of state. The second transition occurred between 2008 and 2009, following a military coup on August 6, 2008, which led to the establishment a High Council of State led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. He resigned from the army a few months later to be elected president on July 18, 2009 with just over 52 %% of votes cast. He formed his government on August 11, 2009. 

Economic developments

Mauritania’s economic growth has been relatively good in recent years, averaging 4.8% between 2001 and 2004, reaching 5.4% in 2005 and surging to 11.4% in 2006 due to the start of oil production (non-oil gross domestic product (GDP) growth was 4.1% in 2006 and 5.9% in 2007). Recent projections for petroleum revenues are lower than originally expected, reflecting a decline in production. Average production has declined over, from 30,600 barrels per day in 2006 to some 10,500 barrels per day over the first eight months of 2008.

• Despite recent socioeconomic progress, Mauritania ranked 137 out of 177 countries in the Human Development Index (2008).
• The country will not be able to meet all Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, particularly in the health area, with 747.0 per 100,000 live births in 2004 and maternal mortality expected to remain high.
• Between 2000 and 2004, it is estimated that the incidence of poverty as a whole fell from 51 to 46.7 %%. Poverty remains a predominantly rural phenomenon.
• Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) rating (2008): 3.4.
• Doing Business ranking (2009): 160 out of 181 countries.

The country has limited agrarian resources but is endowed with extensive mineral deposits, most notably iron ore but also copper and gold. Mauritania’s coastal waters are among the world’s richest fishing grounds, and the country benefits from a fishing agreement with the European Union. As a result, Mauritania’s main sources of foreign revenue since the 1960s have been from exporting fish and iron ore. Crude oil reserves were discovered in various offshore oil fields in 2001, with the first oil drawn in February 2006. In addition, there are natural gas reserves offshore in the Banda that might be great sources of energy for producing electricity. The government has requested support from the World Bank and Petronas, a Malaysian company. The gas electricity project aims at supplying power of 300 to 400 MW to the Mauritanian local market and possibly to neighboring countries such as Senegal and Mali and other client countries. 

Mauritania has transformed from a country with a predominantly nomadic population, limited economic base, and poor social indicators to one that is highly urbanized and increasingly market-driven, with relatively good economic growth (albeit narrowly based). Mining and fisheries (and, since 2006, oil) continue to dominate the industrial sector and together account for nearly all export earnings, thus keeping the economy vulnerable to terms of trade shocks. The rural sector, which is vulnerable to climate conditions (drought), employs an estimated 40 % of the labor force. The recent stabilization of the macro-framework combined with the arrival of oil revenues yields a positive medium-term outlook, with a nearly $938 per capita income in 2007.

The global economic crisis has already affected the Mauritanian economy through a fall in commodity prices on world markets (the iron is trading now at prices 40% lower than last year and falling prices have added to the marketing problems of fish.

Progress in the financial and private sectors will be needed to drive economic growth and promote diversification. Mauritania will continue to face many challenges which oil revenues may not solve or may even aggravate if not carefully managed. Sources of growth are few and the economy is dominated by mining and fishing with few other competitive sectors. As such, Mauritania could become easily exposed to the “resource curse” if oil revenues are not carefully managed and additional sources of growth are not identified nor promoted. The government has treated oil revenues transparently in the 2006 and 2007 budgets. It has set up the National Hydrocarbon Revenue Fund; adhered to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), implementing its steps in partnership with civil society and oil companies; and sought support and technical assistance in the oil sector from the World Bank. Building on its progress with EITI, Mauritania is an early participant in the Bank’s new EITI++ initiative to identify gaps in existing interventions and define priorities for investments, policy advice, and technical assistance. 

Social developments

Mauritania is on track to reach education-related MDG targets for gender equality and primary school enrollment. The gross enrollment rate at the primary level increased from 82 %% in 1990 to 97.9 %% in 2006/2007. Retention rates at the primary level increased from 44 % in 2004-2005 to 53 % in 2008. The primary completion rate is also a key indicator for the Education for All (EFA) goals – for which Mauritania received US$14 million in 2007. In 2007, the allocation of resources to education between regions was addressed by the government by developing regional budgeted action plans that are being implemented. The unemployment rate for graduates of the higher education system is high, indicating that the education and training provided do not meet labor market needs.

In the health sector, results from the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS-2007), conducted by the National Statistical Office (ONS) in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), have shown improvements in the areas of maternal health. In particular, the survey has found a reduction in the level of maternal mortality, from 747 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2001 (Demographic and Health Survey, DHS, 2002) to 684 deaths for 100,000 live births in 2007 (MICS). In addition, the survey points to an increase in the births attended by skilled personnel from 57% in 2001 (DHS) to 61% in 2007 (MICS), and a slight increase in the contraceptive prevalence for the same period (5% to 9%).

The proportion of women occupying seats in Parliament increased from 4 to 18 %%, yet is still short of the government-set target of 20 %%. Women now account for 30 %% of municipal counselors (up from 10 %% in 2005) and there are now three women serving as mayors as opposed to only one in 2005. In 2007, the government appointed for the first time in Mauritania’s history two women ambassadors, two women as Walis (governors) and three women as Hakem (district governors).  In 2009 for the first time a woman was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs and at the same time five other women were appointed as ministers.

Donor coordination

The World Bank has been in Mauritania since 1963, when it opened an office in Nouakchott and launched its first operation in the country, by financing a French mining company, MIFERMA (now called SNIM since its nationalization).

Partnerships have proved strong throughout the preparation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) and Consultative Group (CG) held in December 2007, which was jointly prepared by the government, World Bank, European Union and United Nations Development Program (UNDP). With more than 40 delegations representing several development partners and international institutions, Mauritania’s fifth CG confirmed the country’s national development priorities and medium-term expenditure framework (presented in Mauritania’s 2008-2010 Development Plan) and raised US$2.1 billion in donor support. A separate forum dedicated to promoting private sector investments and public-private partnerships attracted more than 250 Mauritanian and foreign companies. The new CAS for Mauritania, covering FY  2008-2011 and approved by the Board in July 2007, was designed in close collaboration with donors, the government, civil society, and other key stakeholders to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in aid allocation and implementation for Mauritania and align the Bank’s strategy closely with the country’s development priorities.

More broadly, the government of Mauritania and its main financial partners are committed to increasing aid effectiveness. They have started implementing the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and are working on a joint action plan on aid harmonization.. Using the CAS preparation as an important means of engagement, the Bank team has developed and piloted with partners a strategic positioning tool to better analyze financing requirements and core competencies across sectors and donors, which allows a better coordination of portfolios and comparative advantages.Mauritania’s CAS encompasses five strategic objectives, or pillars, that are aligned with the country’s PRSP-2:

• Accelerating growth and maintaining macroeconomic stability
• Anchoring growth in the economic environment of the poor
• Developing human resources and generalizing access to basic social services
• Improving good governance and capacity building
• Reinforcing strategic oversight of programs, monitoring, evaluation, and coordination.

In addition to lending operations, the Bank's program also encompasses economic and sector work (ESW), the provision of Institutional Development Facility (IDF) grants and trust funds (TF). A Public Expenditure Review (PER) was completed in June 2004. A PER update – which benefits from the revision of all main economic data – was completed in FY06, along with an update of the 2003 Country Economic Memorandum (CEM), focusing chiefly on natural resources management (oil and mining). In FY07, an Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) and a Gender Assessment were completed. The ESW portfolio for FY08 also included a study on Corruption in Mauritania which has been completed this year and will serve as an input into the government’s Anti-Corruption Strategy, and a Sources of Growth study to help to identify potential growth sectors is underway. Land Tenure and Fisheries studies and a poverty assessment are also underway. The Bank is currently providing $273,000 through an IDF to support the accountancy profession and $349,000 through an IDF to support the public procurement function. A Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building ($105,930) was approved in September 2005 and aims at supporting the development of a statistical master plan.

Going forward, the Bank will focus its engagement on helping support growth opportunities, particularly through private sector and investment climate improvements, while continuing to address urban and rural poverty, strengthen social service delivery and encourage governance reforms. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) investments will help create public-private partnerships for the development of key areas such as port expansion and energy provision. For FY 2010-11, follow-on operations to the existing portfolio are planned in urban  and human development.

Starting from July 1, 2006, Mauritania has benefited from relief under  the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative  of a total of US$897.1 million, equivalent to nearly 28 % of the total end-2005 external debt.

Current World Bank Portfolio

As of September 2009, the Bank’s IDA portfolio consists of 17 national and regional projects supporting rural development, urban development, education and health, among others, representing US$413 million in IDA commitments, of which US$175 million is undisbursed. The World Bank had also prepared a US$9 million grant  to respond to the food price crisis; that grant has been on hold since the August 6, 2008 coup.  

Total number of current Bank projects disaggregated by sector and %, amount:

Bank portfolio in Mauritania including regional projects (as of September 2009)

International Finance Corporation

IFC’s strategy for Mauritania is focused on: (i) improving the investment climate (ii) building up the capacity of medium and small enterprises and institutions that can support them and (iii) proactive support to project development in the financial, tourism and oil/mining sectors. With the prospect of revenues generated by the discovery of oil, opportunities exist for IFC to assist, through its Private Enterprise Partnership for Africa (PEP Africa) program, in managing the process and minimizing the negative aspects of the wealth shock, particularly in helping with improving corporate governance and investment climate. Opportunities exist in the short term for IFC to support small and medium enterprise development, through linkages activities in the oil industry. Furthermore, IFC plans to collaborate with the World Bank, to support the involvement of the private sector in infrastructure and power following the World Bank’s lead where sector strategies are developed. As of February 29, 2008, IFC’s committed portfolio amounted to US$ 38.00 Million, out of which US$16.66 is outstanding.

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency’s (MIGA) portfolio in Mauritania consists of one guaranteed investment, with a current gross exposure of US$5.4 million, in support of the country’s telecommunications sector. The project, the agency’s first in Mauritania, involves the installation, operation and maintenance of a new global system for mobile communications  telephone network. The project aims to increase teledensity in Mauritania (among the lowest in the world), as well as expand and improve the scope of service, an important development for the local business community. It is a good example of MIGA guarantees complementing World Bank Group policy objectives. MIGA does not expect to underwrite any investments in support of development in Mauritania during the remainder of FY 2009.

World Bank Institute

Mauritania ’s participation in World Bank Institute (WBI) programs has been decreasing in the last two years, from more than 400 participants in FY 2005 to fewer than 50 in FY 2007. The most popular programs are water management and education.

Contacts

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