Mauritania - The economy

This report provides a review of the economy of Mauritania as of 1960. Mauritania is an autonomous republic within the Community established by the French Constitution of October 1950. It is thus responsible for its own domestic economic and financial policy, while the Community is responsible for currency and for economic and financial questions common to the Community as a whole. The key to economic development lies in the country's mineral resources, notably the high grade iron ore deposits at Fort Gouraud which Miferma proposed to exploit. Mauritania is traditionally a bridge between North and West Africa. The economy of Mauritania is primitive and the average level of incomes is among the lowest in West Africa. Probably 90 percent of the people live from agriculture, largely on a subsistence basis.