Despite the spate of insecurity, high rate of inflation, unemployment and recessions, the 2021 World Population Review of World Bank has rated Nigeria as the richest African country with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $514.05 billion.
Nigeria is followed by Egypt with $394.28 billion, South Africa ($329.53 billion), Algeria ($151.46 billion), Morocco ($124 billion), Kenya ($106.04 billion), Ethiopia ($93.97 billion), Ghana ($74.26 billion), Ivory Coast ($70.99 billion) and Angola with $66.49 billion.
“Many of the world’s poorest nations are in Africa. Most economies are unstable, and poverty is widespread. There are, however, some African countries that have the fastest-growing economies in the world.
The largest components of the African economy are agriculture, trade, and natural resources, and the African economy is expected to reach a GDP of $29 trillion by 2050”, the document says, adding that there are several ways to compare a nation’s wealth and one of the best ways to measure it is by taking a look at the purchasing gross domestic product or GDP of a nation.
The Bretton Woods institution says this is the value of the goods and services that come from a nation for one year.
“GDP does not consider the difference in the cost of living and inflation rates between countries as GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPP) does.
“GDP information from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was used to determine the wealthiest African countries. Six African countries have GDPs of over $100 billion.
The top 10 wealthiest African countries are “Nigeria – $514.05 billion; Egypt – $394.28 billion; South Africa – $329.53 billion; Algeria – $151.46 billion; Morocco – $124 billion; Kenya – $106.04 billion; Ethiopia – $93.97 billion; Ghana – $74.26 billion; Ivory Coast – $70.99 billion; Angola – $66.49 billion
“Nigeria is the richest and most populous country in Africa. The country’s large population of 211 million is a likely contributor to its large GDP. Nigeria is a middle-income, mixed economy and emerging market with growing financial, service, communications, and technology sectors.
“Egypt, the second-richest country in Africa, is the third-most populous country with 104 million people. Egypt is also a mixed economy with an emerging information and communications technology sector.
“When looking at GDP per capita— gross domestic product per person— the richest countries look a little different. According to the IMF, the 10 richest countries in Africa, in terms of GDP per capita, are: Seychelles – $26,120; Mauritius – $22,030, Equatorial Guinea – $18,240; Botswana – $18,110; Gabon – $16,240; Madagascar – $13,720; Egypt – $13,080; South Africa – $12,440; Algeria – $11,430; Tunisia – $10,590
“Although Nigeria has the highest GDP of any African country, its GDP per capita is not in the top 10 countries for GDP per capita.
“Seychelles is the richest country when using this metric. The Seychelles economy is primarily driven by fishing, tourism, boat building, processing coconuts and vanilla, and agriculture, especially cinnamon, sweet potatoes, tuna, and bananas. Its public sector contributes the most employment and gross revenue, employing two-thirds of the total labour force.
