Economy · Current account balance · Mauritania
Mauritania’s current account balance fell to −9.6% of GDP in 2024.
−9.6% of GDP
2024
Down 0.51 pp from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
−9.6% of GDP
What it is. The current account adds up a country's trade in goods and services, income paid and received across borders, and transfers such as remittances and aid. A negative figure means Mauritania spends more abroad than it earns, and the difference must be covered by foreign investment, borrowing or reserves. Because it is expressed as a share of GDP, a swing in export prices or in the size of the economy moves the figure. The loans and investment that fill the gap are recorded in the financial account, outside this measure.
Higher is better. A higher balance means a country earns more from the rest of the world relative to its size, so it needs less outside financing to pay its way. Mauritania's latest figure is −9.6% of GDP for 2024, against −9% of GDP in 2023, so the deficit widened by 0.51 percentage points over the year. Since 2015 the balance has ranged from −15.5% of GDP in 2015 to −7% of GDP in 2020. The 2024 reading sits in the upper part of that range, closer to the 2020 best than to the 2015 low.
Why it matters. A deficit of −9.6% of GDP means Mauritania relies on foreign lenders, investors and donors to pay for what it imports. Firms that buy machinery and inputs abroad depend on that financing continuing, and households feel any strain through import prices and the availability of foreign currency. The state faces pressure on its reserves if inflows slow. The next annual figure, set against −9.6% of GDP, will show whether the gap keeps widening.
| Period | Current account balance · Mauritania |
|---|---|
| 2015 | −15.5% of GDP |
| 2016 | −11% of GDP |
| 2017 | −10.4% of GDP |
| 2018 | −13% of GDP |
| 2019 | −10.5% of GDP |
| 2020 | −7% of GDP |
| 2021 | −8.8% of GDP |
| 2022 | −14.9% of GDP |
| 2023 | −9% of GDP |
| 2024 | −9.6% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Current account balance, Mauritania, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/current-account-balance/mauritania
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
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Methodology
Current account balance as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP. A negative value is a deficit.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.