Housing Finance in Mauritania
Overview
This profile is also available in French here.
To download a pdf version of the full 2021 Mauritania country profile, click here.
Mauritania’s estimated population was 4 649 660 in 2020, with a population density of 4.5 people per km2. The urban population increased from 9.1% in 1965 to 55.3% in 2020, corresponding to a total of 2 572 517 inhabitants. Urban growth is most pronounced in urban centres such as Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, and Zouérat. These areas are home to almost one-third of Mauritania’s population. Although the Mauritanian authorities have supervised the planning and urban rehabilitation of informal housing and slums since 2010, there is still significant pressure on available infrastructure and services. This leads to various social, economic, and environmental problems, including problems of housing quality and affordability in these urban areas.
The lockdown and social distancing measures implemented in response to COVID-19 have slowed the economic activity of Mauritania. In 2020, the country’s GDP declined by 1.9%. The inflation rate rose to 2.9% along with the annual construction cost index (CCI) which increased by 12.8% in 2020. The CCI increase is mainly the result of the increase in the cost of basic construction materials (19.6%) and labor (11.4%).
The economic recession could become more severe if the pandemic continues. The Mauritanian authorities have, however, reacted quickly and taken strong measures to contain the pandemic at the local level and mitigate its impact on the country’s economy. In March 2020, the Central Bank of Mauritania (BCM) reduced the repo rate from 6.5% to 5%.
Find out more information on the housing finance sector of Mauritania, including key stakeholders, important policies and housing affordability:
- Macroeconomic Overview
- Access to Finance
- Affordability
- Housing Supply
- Property Markets
- Policy and Regulation
- Opportunities
- Availability of data on housing finance
- Urban Informality
- Websites
- Additional Sources
Each year, CAHF publishes its Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook. The profile above is from the 2021 edition, which has up-to-date profiles for 55 African countries.
Download yearbookMauritania
Macroeconomic Overview
Mauritania is a middle-income country located between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb. It covers an area of over one million square kilometres with a population of about four million and a density of 3.9 people per square kilometre,[1] the lowest density in Africa. The desert covers most of the country. The country has natural resources (iron ore, gold, copper and phosphate) and agricultural resources. Agriculture and livestock breeding are the main economic activities. The dynamism in the mining sector offset the decrease in the agricultural and fishing sectors supporting the country’s growth to 5.9 percent in 2019 from 2.1 percent in 2018.[2]
Urbanisation has grown rapidly due to the rural exodus. Nomadic and rural life is being replaced by a sedentary and urban way of life. In 2019, the urban population was 2.5 million inhabitants out of a total population of approximately 4.5 million inhabitants. Living conditions are deteriorating and precarious housing and slums are on the rise, and are now home to nearly 80 percent of the urban population.[3] Only a quarter of the urban population is connected to electricity, and half to drinking water. Nouakchott had 1.2 million inhabitants in 2019, representing 51 percent of the urban population in contrast to its 15 000 inhabitants at the time of its creation in 1958. In 30 years, the city has seen its population multiply by 18, from 40 000 to over a million inhabitants.[4]
In 2020, the country’s growth is expected to decline with forecasts of between -2 and -6.8 percent due to the global COVID-19 pandemic[5] and lower demand for exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) from Europe and China. This is despite measures taken by the public authorities to maintain economic activity. The country could experience a financing gap and an increase in debt.
Inflation was 2.3 percent in 2019, a slight decrease of 0.7 percentage point compared to 2018. The budget surplus was 0.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 against 1.5 percent in 2018.[6] The poverty rate fell from 44.5 percent to 33 percent between 2008 and 2014, accompanied by a decline in inequality. Unemployment remains high among young people (18.5 percent in 2017), who represent 60 percent of the population.
[1] World Bank. The World Bank in Mauritania. Overview. https://www.banquemondiale.org/fr/country/mauritania/overview (Accessed 22 September 2020).
[2] World Bank (2020). Report on the Economic Situation in Mauritania: Strengthening education to promote social cohesion and support economic development. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Renforcer-l-%C3%89ducation-pour-Favoriser-la-Coh%C3%A9sion-Sociale-et-Soutenir-le-D%C3%A9veloppement-%C3%89conomique-Rapport-sur-la-Situation-%C3%89conomique-en-Mauritanie.pdf (Accessed 24 August 2020). Pg. x.
[3] World Bank. Data. Popultion living in slums (% of urban population. https://donnees.banquemondiale.org/indicator/EN.POP.SLUM.UR.ZS (Accessed 25 August 2020).
[4] Habitat Worldmap (2017). Mauritania. https://habitat-worldmap.org/pays/afrique/mauritanie/ (Accessed 25 August 2020).
[5] World Bank (2020). Report on the Economic Situation in Mauritania: Strengthening education to promote social cohesion and support economic development. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Renforcer-l-%C3%89ducation-pour-Favoriser-la-Coh%C3%A9sion-Sociale-et-Soutenir-le-D%C3%A9veloppement-%C3%89conomique-Rapport-sur-la-Situation-%C3%89conomique-en-Mauritanie.pdf (Accessed 24 August 2020). Pg. xi
[6] World Bank. The World Bank in Mauritania. Overview. https://www.banquemondiale.org/fr/country/mauritania/overview (Accessed 24 August 2020).
Access to Finance
Mauritanian banks and foreign banks operating in Mauritania offer loans and financing for housing. The number of licensed banks remained at 18 in 2020, of which seven are Islamic banks and five are predominantly foreign-owned. However, banks seldom grant loans for the purchase of a newly-built home. More than 90% of newly-built residential units are self-built. Households use mortgage loans to finance the construction of a house or the purchase of a plot of land. These are usually short-term loans.
Most banks offer Islamic financing options such as the Murabaha contract (or cost-plus financing). Households can use the Murabaha to finance the purchase of a plot of land and/or construction materials. The bank buys the land and resells it to its client at a profit margin agreed between the two parties. This may be a fixed amount or a percentage of the original land acquisition cost. Any Mauritanian resident with the legal and financial capacity to make a financial commitment is eligible for a Murabaha contract, provided that he or she is able to provide a pay slip. The profit margin fixed by the bank ranges between 13.5% and 14.5%. Repayment is usually in instalments ranging between six and 60 months. Self-financing of 20% is required and the value of the loan ranges between UM600 000 (US$14 056) and UM10 000 000 (US$234 275). If the value of the plot of land exceeds UM4 000 000 (US$ 93 710), the land is used as collateral.
The Mauritanian Bank for International Trade offers a housing saving plan (Plan Epargne Logement). The mortgage loan is granted to finance the construction or acquisition of a house for residential use. At a preferential rate, the bank finances up to 60% of the mortgage loan and the remaining 40% is financed by the accumulated savings. The repayment period is up to 12 years and the customer can choose the payment frequency: monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly.
Conventional banks offer mortgage loans to individuals to finance the purchase or renovation of a residential property. The mortgage loans are for a maximum period of 10 years, at interest rates between 5.9% and 12%. To qualify, the applicant is required to have an employment contract for an open-ended period, a copy of the land deed, and a land title or a permit of occupation. However, this form of financing is not popular because most Mauritanians do not have bank accounts.
Microfinance is an alternative for those who do not meet the requirements for bank financing. In 2020, the microfinance sector comprised 27 institutions, three networks (PROCAPEC/CAPEC, Caisse d’Epargne and the Crédit Djiké-Mutuelle (CECD-M)), and the Union Nationale des Mutuelles d’Investissement du Crédit Oasien. CECD-M offers exclusively Islamic loans, including loans for social housing with maturities of up to 24 months.
The microfinance sector, however, is undeveloped and not properly regulated. Most microfinance institutions are small with limited outreach. Factors that hamper the sector include the Mauritanian culture of using the informal sector for finance, conditions related to the collateral, and the lack of diversity of microfinance products.
Alternatively, households and individuals use alternative financing solutions such as the tontines to finance the purchase of a property. Nawali is a real estate agency that offers this kind of financing in West Africa and has recently entered the Mauritanian market.
[1] Central Bank of Mauritania (2019). Annual Report 2019. https://www.bcm.mr/IMG/pdf/rapport_anuel_2019.fr.pdf (Accessed 26 August 2020). Pg. 53.
[2] International Monetary Fund (2018). Islamic Republic of Mauritania: First Review Under the Extended Credit
Facility Arrangement. Press Release and Staff Report. Country Report No. 18/137. May 2018. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2018/05/30/Islamic-Republic-of-Mauritania-First-Review-Under-theExtended-Credit-Facility-Arrangement-45917 Pg.10.
[3] World Bank. The World Bank in Mauritania. Overview. https://www.banquemondiale.org/fr/country/mauritania/overview (Accessed 24 August 2020).
[4] World Bank. Global Findex Database. https://globalfindex.worldbank.org/sites/globalfindex/files/2018-08/Global%20Findex%20Database.xlsx (Accessed 26 August 2020).
[5] World Bank (2015). The little data book on financial inclusion. https://www.unsgsa.org/files/2614/2971/4349/LDB_Financial_Inclusion_2015.pdf (Accessed 26 August 2020). Pg. 103.
[6] World Bank (2020). Report on the Economic Situation in Mauritania: Strengthening education to promote social cohesion and support economic development. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Renforcer-l-%C3%89ducation-pour-Favoriser-la-Coh%C3%A9sion-Sociale-et-Soutenir-le-D%C3%A9veloppement-%C3%89conomique-Rapport-sur-la-Situation-%C3%89conomique-en-Mauritanie.pdf (Accessed 24 August 2020). Pg. xi.
Affordability
Overall, 50% of households have seen their incomes fall significantly since the beginning of COVID-19 in 2020. In 2019, housing expenditure was the second largest item of household expenditure (18.8%) across the country. Urban households spend about one-fifth (20.4%) of their resources on housing. Expenditure on housing consists of electricity, gas, and other fuels (6.8%), rent (5.9%), water supply and other housing-related services (5.3%), and maintenance and repair of dwellings (0.8%).
Compared to the average monthly net salary of UM6 000 (US$141) the price of renting in the urban area is exorbitant. A three-bedroom residence costs UM18 210 (US$427) in the city centre and UM9 220 (US$216) in the periphery. A house for sale of 180m2 costs UM2 200 000 (US$51 540). Real estate advertisements in urban areas often target expatriates because they have a higher purchasing power.
Furthermore, access to land ownership in urban areas is a long and difficult process, especially for the most impoverished segments of the population. The persistence of an informal land market sustains rampant speculation around land prices. A square metre of land serviced for residential development costs UM28 571 (US$669) in urban areas.
Because of the high cost of living in residential areas, low-income households live in irregular and illegal settlements on the outskirts of major urban centres. Approximately 34% of households are living in informal housing (huts and barracks).
To promote fair and equal access to land ownership, the government launched its Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity (SCAPP), as a pilot project, with the construction of 50 social housing units made of local materials in a new extension zone in the city of Selibaby.
National Statistics Office (2015). General Census of Population and Housing (RGPH) 2013.
http://www.ons.mr/images/RGPH2013/Chapitre11_Habitat_fr.pdf (Accessed 26 August 2020).
[2] ILO (2017). Study of sectors: Earthen construction materials and solar equipment. International Labour Organization: Country Office for Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—africa/—ro-abidjan/—ilo-algiers/documents/genericdocument/wcms_558530.pdf. (Accessed 27 August 2020). Pg. 22.
[3] Numbeo. Cost of Living in Mauritania. https://fr.numbeo.com/co%C3%BBt-de-la-vie/pays/Mauritanie (Accessed 26 August 2020).
[4] Numbeo. Cost of Living in Mauritania. https://fr.numbeo.com/co%C3%BBt-de-la-vie/pays/Mauritanie (Accessed 26 August 2020).
Housing Supply
Social housing is a challenge for the Mauritanian state and the city of Nouakchott. However, despite the lack of housing financing options, land ownership is being given priority.
Housing is also not resilient as the construction materials used are often not adapted to the climatic environment. The use of local (or adapted) building materials such as compressed earth blocks is being recommended.
The legal and regulatory frameworks for owning land seem to be poorly adapted to the needs of the changing society. Moreover, the absence of a proper system of land data leads to confusion and a considerable loss of resources for the state and local authorities. The land has also become a source of income for the poorest segment of the population. Many live from the sale and resale of land, taking advantage of the fact that urban land is still under construction and of the complexity and imprecision of regulating access to the property. This has led to the development of garza. Garza is a form of illegal squatting on publicly and privately owned land. This form of occupation started in the 1980s after an initiative to distribute plots. It is common practice for the government to make the land ownership of squatters official. Thus, the people living in garzas are not necessarily poor. People occupy the land while waiting to benefit from a prospective distribution of parcels to resell them.
The Urban Development Agency had granted 700 plots of land to vulnerable households by 2021. The land was granted on the condition that the beneficiaries lived in the area for a considerable period of time. Furthermore, only those who have not benefited from any other land distribution were granted a plot of land. These plots are part of the project to restructure the slum areas (garza) of Nouakchott, namely Tojnin, Dar Al-Naim, and Arafat. Arafat is the biggest garza, located in the centre of the city. However, many families do not have a title for the land they live on because of the lack of registration records at the General Directorate for State Property and Heritage (DGDPE), or because they have not registered their plot of land. They are vulnerable and can be evacuated at any time and without compensation.
The new Director-General of the Maimouna Mint Ahmed Salem agency has decided to permanently stop the granting of land registration licenses and referred the centralising of land title registration and claims to the Ministry of Finance.
A new plan for the city of Nouakchott was created using the latest technology to prevent forgery and simulation. The plan was developed by the General Department of Urbanism and Land Reclamation in cooperation with the Ministry of National Defence. After purchasing a plot of land citizens can obtain, from the DGDPE, a PDF or hard copy of the plan that includes the geographical coordinates of the plot. Conditions for obtaining the plan are a hard copy of the title and a copy of an identification card.
[1] Habitat Worldmap (2017). Mauritania. https://habitat-worldmap.org/pays/afrique/mauritanie/ (Accessed 27 August 2020).
[2] GRET (2012). Twize, 10 years of social development in Mauritania.22 May 2012. https://www.gret.org/2012/05/twize-10-ans-de-developpement-social-urbain-en-mauritanie/ (Accessed 22 September 2020).
[3] ISKAN (2017). Restructuring program for precarious neighborhoods in Nouadhibou. http://iskan.gov.mr/index.php/realises/ National Society for Land Development, Housing Development and Property Management (Accessed 28 August 2020).
[4] Middle East Monitor (2017). Mauritania suspends housing projects funded by Qatar.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170705-mauritania-suspends-housing-projects-funded-by-qatar/ (Accessed 28 August 2020).
Property Markets
The 2013 population census shows that 80% of households own their homes at the national level. This can be attributed, among other things, to the housing policies pursued by the state for several years. The aim of these policies is to ensure that every Mauritanian citizen has a roof over their head by making it easier to acquire land for housing, sometimes free of charge. While the proportion of households that own their own home is significant in both urban and rural areas, it is higher in rural areas (96%) than in urban areas (65%).
Overall, 13.7% of households are tenants. However, the notion of renting is not widespread in rural areas, where only 1% of households are renters compared to 26% of households in urban areas.38 Nouadhibou and Nouakchott have the highest concentration of home renters, 35% and 38% respectively.
There are three types of housing: modern, semi-modern, and informal housing. At the national level, the proportion of housing of a modern standard is only 1.3%. The proportion of semi-modern housing is the most prevalent (79.6%).
The formal real estate market in urban areas, and most notably in Nouakchott, is mainly focused on developing modern housing solutions for the most affluent and expatriates. Local real estate agencies assist in finding high-end flats and accommodation in the city centre and residential areas surrounding embassies and offices of international organisations.
In contrast, those who cannot afford the prices of formal real estate agencies resort to the informal market, which can be risky. A number of “brokers”, who have mastered various techniques of property scamming, are taking advantage of the failure of the administration of the property services to conclude property transactions on the fringe of the law.
After the slowdown of the economy, many landowners anticipated the possible reduction or loss of income when the first lockdown measures were implemented and significantly reduced the prices of their properties. This resulted in the sales of properties in the north of Nouakchott, more specifically in the area of Tahrigh Zina and its surroundings
[1] National Statistics Office (2015). General Census of Population and Housing (RGPH) 2013.http://www.ons.mr/images/RGPH2013/Chapitre11_Habitat_fr.pdf Pg. 1.
[2]National Statistics Office (2015). General Census of Population and Housing (RGPH) 2013.
http://www.ons.mr/images/RGPH2013/Chapitre11_Habitat_fr.pdf. Pg. 9.
[3] World Bank (2020). Doing Business 2020. Economy Profile of Mauritania.
https://www.doingbusiness.org/content/dam/doingBusiness/country/m/mauritania/MRT.pdf (Accessed 28 August 2020).
Policy and Regulation
The Mauritanian state has a monopoly on land tenure and the current land legislation is modelled on the French model. Ordinance 83-127 of 5 June 1983 gives the state the power to protect its domain and dispose of vacant and unowned land according to the conditions defined by Shariah law.
The urban sector is regulated by Decree N° 90-020 of 31 January 1990, revised in 2010. It defines the powers to grant urban concessions. This power falls under the Council of Ministers and the Minister of Finance. These two bodies place orders with the Ministry of Urban Planning, Housing, and Regional Development for the design of subdivision plans. The Council or the Ministry then issues the buyer with an occupation permit, after the latter has paid the price of the land and the demarcation costs. The beneficiary must then exploit the land within a period of five years. Only at the end of this period will the land title be issued by the DGDPE. However, this rule is only rarely used. The occupation permit is generally sufficient to establish ownership.
[1] Official Journal of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (1983). Ordinance 83-127 of June 5, 1983 relating to the reorganization of land and property. http://www.droit-afrique.com/upload/doc/mauritanie/Mauritanie-Ordonnance-1983-127-reorganisation-fonciere-et-domaniale.pdf (Accessed 30 September 2020). Pg. 1.
Opportunities
To promote sustainability in the cities, Mauritania is turning to renewable energies such as wind, water, and solar energy. The Mauritanian government is working to expand its electricity supply by encouraging investment in the renewable energy sector to boost the economy. This is a good investment opportunity for independent power producers not yet involved in the production of electricity in Mauritania. SOMELEC, the Mauritanian electricity company, is the sole provider of electricity in the country and most of its existing capacity comes from heavy fuel oil generation. As Mauritania is endowed with substantial renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, and hydro, as well as natural gas reserves, it has a high resource potential and is capable of producing enough electricity for cross-border export.
[1] Decree of 20 February 2019 establishing attributions, composition and functioning of the Higher Council for the Improvement of the Business Climate in Mauritania. (Accessed 28 August 2020).
[2] World Bank (2013). Mauritania – Country partnership strategy for the period FY2014-2016 (English). http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/294641468056337844/Mauritania-Country-partnership-strategy-for-the-period-FY2014-2016 (Accessed 28 August 2020).
[3] Habitat Worldmap (2017). Mauritania. https://habitat-worldmap.org/pays/afrique/mauritanie/. (Accessed 27 August 2020).
Availability of data on housing finance
Most housing data are obtained from statistical reports of the National Office of Statistics (ONS) and international organisations such as the World Bank. ONS publishes, quarterly, an index of the cost of construction, including the price of construction materials and labour while the BCM publishes data about the performance of financial institutions and the value of outstanding loans.
Mauritania has improved the quality of transparency of information on property transfers through publication on the DGDPE website. The public has access to information (texts and laws) on land ownership; the list of documents required for any type of land transaction; all transaction costs; as well as statistics of transactions. However, the website is currently defunct or still under construction.
The National Company for Land Development, Housing Development, and Real Estate Management (ISKAN) publish land tenure data available to the public. However, the ISKAN website cannot be accessed since 10 September. Archive versions of the websites are available online, but some information is missing.
Urban Informality
Because of rural migration and the rapid development of the cities, the most difficult task for Mauritanian authorities is to lay out the streets and make the neighborhoods viable. The government constantly looks for solutions to solve the problem of populations crammed into slums in neighborhoods around the urban centres and to provide the population with adequate basic services. The measures implemented since the 1990s include the resettlement of people in better-serviced areas.
The phenomenon of informal settlements, “kebbe”, started in the 1970s with rural migration. A kebbe is a local slum, housing the most socially and economically marginalised section of the population. The kebbe El Mina, the largest slum in Nouakchott, was restructured as part of the Urban Development Plan implemented by the World Bank. Seventy percent of slum dwellers were relocated in the south of the city while the remaining 30% were granted the land they lived on.
People living in informal settlements do not have access to water, electricity, or waste collection. Public transport is almost non-existent. Furthermore, the areas where these informal settlements are built suffer from underground water leakage in the rainy season because of the lack of a sewage network.
[1] Making Finance Work for Africa (2020). Responses of the African financial sector to the COVID-19 crisis – Mauritania. 22 July 2020. https://www.mfw4a.org/fr/news/reponses-du-secteur-financier-africain-la-crise-du-covid-19-mauritanie (Accessed 30 August 2020).
Websites
Central Bank of Mauritania www.bcm.mr
National Office of Statistics www.ons.mr
National Agency of Statistics and Demographic and Economic Analysis www.ansade.mr
Ministry of Housing, Urban Planning and Development www.habitat.gov.mr/
General Directorate of State Property and Assets www.domaines.gov.mr/
National Company for Land Development, Housing Development and Real Estate Management www.iskan.gov.mr/
World Bank www.data.worldbank.org/indicator
Additional Sources
Making Finance Work for Africa. https://www.mfw4a.org/country/mauritania
(Accessed 6 September 2021).
Moyouzame, A. (2021). How Nawali facilitates the purchase of real estate thanks
to the tontine. 31 May 2021. Agence Ecofin.
https://www.agenceecofin.com/entreprendre/3105-88698-comment-nawalifacilite-
l-achat-de-biens-immobiliers-grace-a-la-tontine (Accessed 17 September
2021).
Demande de titre foncier. https://web.archive.org/web/20210814145714/https://www.domaines.gov.mr/ind
ex.php/formalite/ (Accessed 16 September 2021).
Plan cadastral. https://web.archive.org/web/20210815223730/
https://www.domaines.gov.mr/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ILOT_DB_DAR_
EL_BARKA-525.pdf (Accessed 16 September 2021).
