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Mauritania: Economy
INTRODUCTION
1. Political situation
2. Economy
3. Health & Education
4. Religions & Peoples
5. History
GDP: $1 billion
GDP/capita: $345
GDP/sector: Agriculture 25%, Industry 29%, Services 46%.
Annual growth in GDP: 4%
Foreign debts: $1.6 billion
Foreign debts/GDP: 160%
Foreign debts/capita: $550
Trade balance: +7%
Export products: Iron, fish and fish products, gold.
Annual inflation rate: 4.4%
Official unemployment: 21%
Population below poverty line: 50%
All figures are 2002 estimates.
1996:
US$1=137 Mauritanian ougiyas
1997:
US$1=151 Mauritanian ougiyas
1998:
US$1=188 Mauritanian ougiyas
1999:
US$1=209 Mauritanian ougiyas
2000:
US$1=238 Mauritanian ougiyas
2001:
US$1=254 Mauritanian ougiyas
2003:
US$1=261 Mauritanian ougiyas
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Mauritania is very poor, most people here lead a life little touched by modern changes. The elite is small, mainly living in the capital Nouakchott, and in almost all cases best compared to European middle class.
TVs are found all around the country, but in small numbers outside the capital. The drought over the recent decades has made old nomadic life styles far less common. This has resulted in an extreme growth of cities, and Mauritania has quickly reached a Western level of urbanization. These figures are however misleading, as many of the cities have no better infrastructure and conditions than a village.
The economy is totally depending on iron from the mines in the north of Mauritania, fishing and foreign aid. Mauritania had until the 80's a surplus in their foreign trade, but this changed in just a couple of years into a foreign dept almost three times the GNP. As the prices of iron has made mining almost unprofitable, and the rights of fishing has been given away to clever Koreans, Japanese and Russians there are few signs of improvement in Mauritanian economy.
Mauritanian GNP/capita is estimated to be at around $500, but barter economy and extensive smuggling makes the true figures higher.
© Copyright 1996-2008 LookLex Ltd. All rights reserved
By: Tore Kjeilen
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