• GDP: US$1.6 billion (2006).
• Main exports: Iron ore, fish and fish products and gold.
• Main imports: Machinery and equipment, petroleum products, capital goods, food and consumer goods.
• Main trade partners: China, France, Italy, USA and Belgium.

More than half the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, mostly in the Senegal River valley. The quantities produced are insufficient to meet domestic needs and Mauritania relies on imports of basic foodstuffs.

Mining is Mauritania's principal industry. There are plans to exploit the country's copper reserves, which were long thought uneconomic, as well as newly located diamond deposits. Offshore drilling for oil and gas fields has begun.

Nonetheless, Mauritania's financial position remains precarious and it will remain an exceptionally poor country for the foreseeable future and a major aid recipient, with other Arab countries as the main donors. The economy grew by 5.4% in 2005; inflation was 17.1% in the same year.

Use forms of address as for France, eg ‘Monsieur le Directeur’. It is essential that businesspeople have a sound knowledge of French, as very few executives speak English.

Office hours: Sun-Thurs 0800-1500.

Chambre de Commerce, d’Agriculture, d’Elevage, d’Industrie et des Mines de Mauritanie
Avenue de la Republique, BP 215, Nouakchott, Mauritania
Tel: 252 214.