The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on Mauritania’s economy, leading to a contraction of 1.5% in 2020. This resulted in employment and income losses, pushing an estimated 48,000 people into extreme poverty. The pandemic also led to a rise in unemployment, reaching 11.5% in 2021, up from 10.4% in 2019. The country’s GDP per capita only grew by 0.4% over the 2016-2019 period, highlighting the need to adopt a pro-growth fiscal policy. The pandemic has also exacerbated the country’s social challenges, with extreme poverty estimated to have increased to 6.3% in 2022. The Mauritanian economy is slowly recovering from the pandemic, with growth expected to average 6.5% of GDP in 2023-2024, sustained by increases in public investment and gas production from the GTA project.
The COVID-19 crisis has severely affected the economy of Mauritania and reversed years of poverty reduction. The pandemic has presented the government with an opportunity for further policy reform and steers, particularly to meet the heightened social needs in the wake of the COVID-19 shock. The crisis has led to employment and income losses, pushing an estimated 48,000 people into extreme poverty. The government is working to turn the crisis into an opportunity for policy reform and to meet the heightened social needs in the wake of the COVID-19 shock. The country’s over-reliance on extractive resources has been a constraint that will hinder the achievement of stable economic growth, and the government is working to address this challenge.
Mauritania’s recovery of its economy in 2021 was robust, and growth is expected to average 6.5% of GDP in 2023-2024, sustained by increases in public investment and gas production from the GTA project. The government is working to turn the crisis into an opportunity for policy reform and to meet the heightened social needs in the wake of the COVID-19 shock. The country’s over-reliance on extractive resources has been a constraint that will hinder the achievement of stable economic growth, and the government is working to address this challenge. The pandemic has presented the government with an opportunity for further policy reform and steers, particularly to meet the heightened social needs in the wake of the COVID-19 shock. The crisis has led to employment and income losses, pushing an estimated 48,000 people into extreme poverty. The government is working to turn the crisis into an opportunity for policy reform and to meet the heightened social needs in the wake of the COVID-19 shock.
