As of April 2025, South Africa's GDP was estimated at over 410 billion U.S. dollars, the highest in Africa. Egypt followed, with a GDP worth around 347 billion U.S. dollars, and ranked as the second-highest on the continent. Algeria ranked third, with nearly 269 billion U.S. dollars. These African economies are among some of the fastest-growing economies worldwide. Dependency on oil For some African countries, the oil industry represents an enormous source of income. In Nigeria, oil generates over five percent of the country’s GDP in the third quarter of 2023. However, economies such as the Libyan, Algerian, or Angolan are even much more dependent on the oil sector. In Libya, for instance, oil rents account for over 40 percent of the GDP. Indeed, Libya is one of the economies most dependent on oil worldwide. Similarly, oil represents for some of Africa’s largest economies a substantial source of export value. The giants do not make the ranking Most of Africa’s largest economies do not appear in the leading ten African countries for GDP per capita. The GDP per capita is calculated by dividing a country’s GDP by its population. Therefore, a populated country with a low total GDP will have a low GDP per capita, while a small rich nation has a high GDP per capita. For instance, South Africa has Africa’s highest GDP, but also counts the sixth-largest population, so wealth has to be divided into its big population. The GDP per capita also indicates how a country’s wealth reaches each of its citizens. In Africa, Seychelles has the greatest GDP per capita.

This dataset provides values for GDP PER CAPITA reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Seychelles had the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Africa as of 2024. The value amounted to 21,630 U.S. dollars. Mauritius followed with around 12,330 U.S. dollars, whereas Gabon registered 8,840 U.S. dollars. GDP per capita is calculated by dividing a country’s GDP by its population, meaning that some of the largest economies are not ranked within the leading ten. Impact of COVID-19 on North Africa’s GDP When looking at the GDP growth rate in Africa in 2024, Libya had the largest estimated growth in Northern Africa, a value of 7.8 percent compared to the previous year. Niger and Senegal were at the top of the list with rates of 10.4 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on the economy was severe. The growth of the North African real GDP was estimated at minus 1.1 percent in 2020. However, estimations for 2022 looked much brighter, as it was set that the region would see a GDP growth of six percent, compared to four percent in 2021.
Contribution of Tourism Various countries in Africa are dependent on tourism, contributing to the economy. In 2023, travel and tourism were estimated to contribute 182.6 billion U.S. dollars, a clear increase from 96.5 in 2020 following COVID-19. As of 2024, South Africa, Mauritius, and Egypt led tourism in the continent according to the Travel & Tourism Development Index.

This dataset provides values for CORRUPTION RANK reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

In 2025, Luxembourg was the country with the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Of the 20 listed countries, 13 are in Europe and five are in Asia, alongside the U.S. and Australia. There are no African or Latin American countries among the top 20. Correlation with high living standards While GDP is a useful indicator for measuring the size or strength of an economy, GDP per capita is much more reflective of living standards. For example, when compared to life expectancy or indices such as the Human Development Index or the World Happiness Report, there is a strong overlap - 14 of the 20 countries on this list are also ranked among the 20 happiest countries in 2024, and all 20 have "very high" HDIs. Misleading metrics? GDP per capita figures, however, can be misleading, and to paint a fuller picture of a country's living standards then one must look at multiple metrics. GDP per capita figures can be skewed by inequalities in wealth distribution, and in countries such as those in the Middle East, a relatively large share of the population lives in poverty while a smaller number live affluent lifestyles.

This dataset provides values for GOLD RESERVES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

As of 2023, Niger registered the agricultural sector's highest contribution to the GDP in Africa, at over ** percent. Comoros and Ethiopia followed, with agriculture, forestry, and fishing accounting for approximately ** percent and ** percent of the GDP, respectively. On the other hand, Botswana, Djibouti, Libya, Zambia, and South Africa were the African countries with the lowest percentage of the GDP generated by the agricultural sector. Agriculture remains a pillar of Africa’s economy Despite the significant variations across countries, agriculture is a key sector in Africa. In 2022, it represented around ** percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, growing by over *** percentage points compared to 2011. The agricultural industry also strongly contributes to the continent’s job market. The number of people employed in the primary sector in Africa grew from around *** million in 2011 to *** million in 2021. In proportion, agriculture employed approximately ** percent of Africa’s working population in 2021. Agricultural activities attracted a large share of the labor force in Central, East, and West Africa, which registered percentages over the regional average. On the other hand, North Africa recorded the lowest share of employment in agriculture, as the regional economy relies significantly on the industrial and service sectors. Cereals are among the most produced crops Sudan and South Africa are the African countries with the largest agricultural areas. Respectively, they devote around *** million and **** million hectares of land to growing crops. Agricultural production varies significantly across African countries in terms of products and volume. Cereals such as rice, corn, and wheat are among the main crops on the continent, also representing a staple in most countries. The leading cereal producers are Ethiopia, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa. Together, they recorded a cereal output of almost *** million metric tons in 2021. Additionally, rice production was concentrated in Nigeria, Egypt, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

Nigeria was the leading oil producer in Africa as of 2023. Oil production amounted to roughly ** million metric tons in the country. Algeria, Libya, and Angola followed, each with an output above ** million metric tons. In the same year, the overall production of oil in Africa, including crude oil, shale oil, oil sands, and NGLs, reached ***** million metric tons, *** percent more than in 2022. Main producers, main exportersWhile being the main oil producer in Africa, Nigeria was also the largest crude oil exporter in the continent. The country sold nearly *** million barrels of oil daily to the international market in 2022. Angola and Libya followed, with an export volume of roughly *** million and ******* barrels per day, respectively. North and West Africa's contribution to the global oil exports reached nearly ***** percent as of 2023. Reserves and refinery capacityAfrica’s crude oil reserves remained stable in 2021, accumulating to ***** billion barrels. From a country perspective, Libya had the highest amount of crude oil reserves in the continent, **** billion barrels, while the Nigerian reserves amounted to **** billion barrels. When it comes to oil refining, Egypt led, with a refinery capacity of *** thousand barrels daily.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the BRICS countries have been considered the five foremost developing economies in the world. Originally, the term BRIC was used by economists when talking about the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, however these countries have held annual summits since 2009, and the group has expanded to include South Africa since 2010. China has the largest GDP of the BRICS country, at 16.86 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, while the others are all below three trillion. Combined, the BRICS bloc has a GDP over 25.85 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, which is slightly more than the United States. BRICS economic development China has consistently been the largest economy of this bloc, and its rapid growth has seen it become the second largest economy in the world, behind the U.S.. China's growth has also been much faster than the other BRICS countries; for example, when compared with the second largest BRICS economy, its GDP was less than double the size of Brazil's in 2000, but is almost six times larger than India's in 2021. Since 2000, the country with the second largest GDP has fluctuated between Brazil, Russia, and India, due to a variety of factors, although India has held this position since 2015 (when the other two experienced recession), and it's growth rate is on track to surpass China's in the coming decade. South Africa has consistently had the smallest economy of the BRICS bloc, and it has just the third largest economy in Africa; its inclusion in this group is due to the fact that it is the most advanced and stable major economy in Africa, and it holds strategic importance due to the financial potential of the continent in the coming decades. Future developments It is predicted that China's GDP will overtake that of the U.S. by the end of the 2020s, to become the largest economy in the world, while some also estimate that India will also overtake the U.S. around the middle of the century. Additionally, the BRICS group is more than just an economic or trading bloc, and its New Development Bank was established in 2014 to invest in sustainable infrastructure and renewable energy across the globe. While relations between its members were often strained or of less significance in the 20th century, their current initiatives have given them a much greater international influence. The traditional great powers represented in the Group of Seven (G7) have seen their international power wane in recent decades, while BRICS countries have seen theirs grow, especially on a regional level. Today, the original BRIC countries combine with the Group of Seven (G7), to make up 11 of the world's 12 largest economies, but it is predicted that they will move further up on this list in the coming decades.