Mauritania: Net foreign assets (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Mauritania's net foreign assets (current LCU) rose 8.68 billion on 2018 (from 14.97 billion to 23.65 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1975 to 2018), the average change was +624.1 million and a typical year strayed about 3.24 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.26 billion in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.07 billion in 2014. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.25 billion a year. A straight line explains 31% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Mauritania in the 2019 ranking

• Cameroon — 1st of 4: 2.35 trillion
• Gabon — 2nd of 4: 481.13 billion
• Sri Lanka — 3rd of 4: 212.6 billion

What this measures

Net foreign assets are the sum of foreign assets held by monetary authorities and deposit money banks, less their foreign liabilities. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

All 45 values

Net foreign assets (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Angola — 12.83 trillion (2025)
• Benin — 2.24 trillion (2025)
• Botswana — 60.03 billion (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 3.31 trillion (2025)
• Burundi — -2.26 trillion (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 118.67 billion (2025)
• Cameroon — 2.35 trillion (2019)
• Central African Republic — 15.18 billion (2022)
• Chad — -347.79 billion (2021)
• Comoros — 126.48 billion (2024)
• Congo, Dem. Rep.

More financial sector data for Mauritania

• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$39.79 (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 150.07 (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 3.38% (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$36.49 (2023)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 22.59% (2019)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 89.87 billion (2019)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 22.72% (2019)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 82.31 billion (2019)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 28.41% (2019)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Mauritania's net foreign assets (current LCU)?

23.65 billion in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1962?

It is up 36,858% from 64 million in 1962 (10.93% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 23.65 billion in 2019 and the lowest -5.65 billion in 2005.

Is the latest change in net foreign assets (current LCU) unusual for Mauritania?

In 2019, Mauritania's net foreign assets (current LCU) rose 8.68 billion on 2018 (from 14.97 billion to 23.65 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1975 to 2018), the average change was +624.1 million and a typical year strayed about 3.24 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FM.AST.NFRG.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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