Mauritania: Personal remittances, received (% of GDP)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 0.05 percentage points from 0.82% in 2019. Since 1975 it is up 0.81 percentage points from 0.06% in 1975. The World Bank has no value for 18 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2024, Mauritania's personal remittances, received (% of GDP) fell 0.7 percentage points on 2023 (from 1.57% to 0.87%).

Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1976 to 2023), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.74 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.77 percentage points in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.19 percentage points in 1993. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2017 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 8 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2024, Mauritania had the 27th highest value of the 29 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Mauritania in the 2024 ranking

• Djibouti — 23rd of 29: 1.35%
• Naoero — 24th of 29: 1.33%
• Cameroon — 25th of 29: 1.29%
• Namibia — 27th of 29: 0.71%
• Malta — 28th of 29: 0.06%
• Papua New Guinea — 29th of 29: 0.01%

What this measures

Personal remittances comprise personal transfers and compensation of employees. Personal transfers consist of all current transfers in cash or in kind made or received by resident households to or from nonresident households. Personal transfers thus include all current transfers between resident and nonresident individuals. Compensation of employees refers to the income of border, seasonal, and other short-term workers who are employed in an economy where they are not resident and of residents employed by nonresident entities. Data are the sum of two items defined in the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual: personal transfers and compensation of employees.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 32 values

Personal remittances, received (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 0.04% (2025)
• Benin — 1.72% (2023)
• Botswana — 0.83% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 2.57% (2024)
• Burundi — 8.12% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 11.67% (2025)
• Cameroon — 1.29% (2024)
• Comoros — 20.84% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 3.65% (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 0.3% (2021)

More economic policy & debt data for Mauritania

• Changes in inventories (current US$) — US$2.03 billion (2025)
• Changes in inventories (current LCU) — 80.64 billion (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$8.17 billion (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 325.27 billion (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 69.99% (2025)
• Gross national expenditure (current US$) — US$13.35 billion (2025)
• Gross national expenditure (current LCU) — 531.28 billion (2025)
• Gross national expenditure (% of GDP) — 114.32% (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (current US$) — US$4.65 billion (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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Questions people ask

What is Mauritania's personal remittances, received (% of GDP)?

0.87% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1975?

It is up 0.81 percentage points from 0.06% in 1975. The highest value was 2.32% in 1992 and the lowest 0.04% in 1977.

How does Mauritania rank?

27th highest of 29 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in personal remittances, received (% of GDP) unusual for Mauritania?

In 2024, Mauritania's personal remittances, received (% of GDP) fell 0.7 percentage points on 2023 (from 1.57% to 0.87%). Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1976 to 2023), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.74 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB); IMF balance of payments data, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Bank GDP estimates, World Bank (WB); OECD GDP estimates, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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