Mauritania poised to be Africa’s growth champion thanks to extractive economy

Mauritania is expected to report the highest growth rate in Africa by 2025 at 14.5% as the west African country taps into newly found gas, phosphates, and uranium resources, the IMF said.

In 2024, the IMF expects the Mauritanian economy to grow by 4.3% with the beginning of production in the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas field.

The GTA project, under the management of global giants BP and Kosmos Energy, is targeting initial production of 2.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year, with plans to increase this to 5 million tons per year in 2027 and 10 million tons from 2030.

Next year, gas would represent 11.5% of the Mauritanian GDP which has for decades been dominated by farming, iron, and fisheries.

Already one of the poorest countries in Africa, Mauritania hopes the newly found resources would help increase GDP per capita and improve the living conditions for its 5 million people.