Merchandise trade in Mauritania
Mauritania: Merchandise trade was 87.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Mauritania, 1961–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Mauritania stood at 87.3%.
The figure is up 5.9% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Mauritania peaked at 93.1% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 20.7%, in 1961.
That places Mauritania 36th out of 204 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Mauritania, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 20.7% | — |
| 1962 | 23.7% | +14.5% |
| 1963 | 27.4% | +15.2% |
| 1964 | 27.6% | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 32.1% | +16.3% |
| 1966 | 34.5% | +7.5% |
| 1967 | 37.9% | +9.7% |
| 1968 | 34.4% | -9.2% |
| 1969 | 40.0% | +16.4% |
| 1970 | 46.9% | +17.2% |
| 1971 | 45.0% | -4.0% |
| 1972 | 43.1% | -4.1% |
| 1973 | 57.4% | +33.0% |
| 1974 | 48.9% | -14.7% |
| 1975 | 47.9% | -2.1% |
| 1976 | 46.1% | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 45.6% | -1.1% |
| 1978 | 37.8% | -17.1% |
| 1979 | 42.7% | +12.9% |
| 1980 | 45.8% | +7.4% |
| 1981 | 47.6% | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 45.9% | -3.5% |
| 1983 | 44.5% | -3.0% |
| 1984 | 46.4% | +4.3% |
| 1985 | 60.2% | +29.6% |
| 1986 | 49.0% | -18.7% |
| 1987 | 49.3% | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 42.0% | -14.9% |
| 1989 | 45.4% | +8.2% |
| 1990 | 56.9% | +25.2% |
| 1991 | 40.5% | -28.8% |
| 1992 | 38.4% | -5.1% |
| 1993 | 47.0% | +22.2% |
| 1994 | 39.7% | -15.5% |
| 1995 | 43.9% | +10.7% |
| 1996 | 44.1% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 41.6% | -5.7% |
| 1998 | 38.7% | -7.0% |
| 1999 | 37.4% | -3.3% |
| 2000 | 45.5% | +21.5% |
| 2001 | 47.0% | +3.3% |
| 2002 | 42.9% | -8.6% |
| 2003 | 41.9% | -2.3% |
| 2004 | 57.7% | +37.6% |
| 2005 | 69.9% | +21.2% |
| 2006 | 64.6% | -7.5% |
| 2007 | 66.4% | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 71.6% | +7.9% |
| 2009 | 60.7% | -15.2% |
| 2010 | 71.2% | +17.3% |
| 2011 | 77.1% | +8.3% |
| 2012 | 85.8% | +11.2% |
| 2013 | 89.1% | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 87.4% | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 89.5% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 59.3% | -33.8% |
| 2017 | 80.9% | +36.5% |
| 2018 | 70.0% | -13.4% |
| 2019 | 73.3% | +4.7% |
| 2020 | 67.5% | -7.9% |
| 2021 | 77.3% | +14.6% |
| 2022 | 93.1% | +20.4% |
| 2023 | 83.1% | -10.7% |
| 2024 | 82.4% | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 87.3% | +5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 30.9% | 20.7% | 40.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 46.1% | 37.8% | 57.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 47.6% | 42.0% | 60.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 42.8% | 37.4% | 56.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 56.8% | 41.9% | 71.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.4% | 59.3% | 89.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.8% | 67.5% | 93.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mauritania
More private sector data for Mauritania
- Food imports 23.9% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 40.8% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 5.68 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 25.5% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 0.5% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 4.51 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 848.53 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.3861 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 8.67 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 1,070 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Mauritania?
- Merchandise trade in Mauritania was 87.3% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Mauritania?
- The highest recorded value was 93.1% in 2022.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Mauritania?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.7% in 1961.
- How does Mauritania rank for merchandise trade?
- Mauritania ranks 36th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Mauritania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mauritania data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.