South Africa's GDP was estimated at just over 403 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, the highest in Africa. Egypt followed, with a GDP worth around 380 billion U.S. dollars, and ranked as the second-highest on the continent. Algeria ranked third, with about 260 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.

As of 2023, the GDP of Africa was estimated at roughly 3.1 trillion U.S. dollars. This was the highest value since 2010 when the continent's GDP amounted to approximately 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars. The GDP value in Africa generally followed an upward trend in recent years and was estimated to exceed 4.2 trillion U.S. dollars by 2027.

Leading the charge: the three leading African economies

Among the African countries, in 2021, Nigeria had the highest GDP with approximately 442 billion U.S. dollars. South Africa and Egypt followed. These three countries have the largest economies for various reasons. The most notable factors are their population size, natural resources, and level of economic development. Furthermore, Africa was projected to have a real GDP growth rate of 3.9 percent in 2023. Libya was the economy experiencing the highest growth rate in that year.

The Sub-Saharan African economy on the rise

A global comparison showed that Sub-Saharan Africa had the smallest GDP among all world regions in 2021, amounting to 1.87 trillion U.S. dollars. A closer look revealed that Sub-Saharan Africa had a GDP per capita of 1,626.3 U.S. dollars in 2021, again the lowest worldwide. However, the region's economy was forecast to experience continued growth in the following years, with the real GDP increasing by 3.7 percent in 2023.

Seychelles had the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Africa as of 2024. The value amounted to 21.87 thousand U.S. dollars. Mauritius followed with around 13 thousand U.S. dollars, whereas Gabon registered 9.31 thousand 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.

In 2024, Niger's real GDP is estimated to grow by 10.4 percent compared to the previous year. During 2023, the GDP is estimated to have increased by only 1.4 percent, nevertheless a positive trend. The country's real GDP is forecast to continue growing but at a slower pace. Between 2025 and 2029, it is expected to grow annually by roughly six percent. Furthermore, the GDPs of Senegal, Libya, and Rwanda might increase by around 8.3 percent, 7.8 percent, and 6.9 percent during 2024, respectively. Niger: A dependence on agriculture A large portion of Niger's economy comes from agriculture. In 2022, agriculture accounted for almost 40 percent of the GDP. Niger is not the only country in Africa where agriculture plays a crucial role. For example, agriculture made up nearly 60 percent of Sierra Leone’s GDP in 2022. Such dependence could mean that any disruptions in the agricultural products market could have significant effects on the country's GDP. Sub-Saharan Africa's economy will be among the fastest-growing regions worldwide Three African countries have significantly larger economies, namely, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt. As of 2022, these countries' GDP stood at nearly 477.4 billion, 475.2 billion, and 405.7 billion U.S. dollars. Furthermore, it is anticipated that Sub-Saharan Africa's GDP growth in 2026 will rank as the second-fastest growing economic region in the world after the ASEAN-5 countries, with a growth rate of approximately four percent. In contrast, economic areas such as the European Union are forecast to grow at only about 1.5 percent in the same year.

As of 2023, Niger registered the agricultural sector's highest contribution to the GDP in Africa, at over 47 percent. Comoros and Ethiopia followed, with agriculture, forestry, and fishing accounting for approximately 37 percent and 36 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 17 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, growing by over two 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 197 million in 2011 to 230 million in 2021. In proportion, agriculture employed approximately 43 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 113 million and 96.3 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 100 million metric tons in 2021. Additionally, rice production was concentrated in Nigeria, Egypt, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

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

Seychelles recorded the highest Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in Africa as of 2023, at 16,940 U.S. dollars. The African island was, therefore, the only high-income country on the continent, according to the source's classification. Mauritius, Gabon, Botswana, Libya, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, and Namibia were defined as upper-middle-income economies, those with a GNI per capita between 4,516 U.S. dollars and 14,005 U.S. dollars. On the opposite, 20 African countries recorded a GNI per capita below 1,145 U.S. dollars, being thus classified as low-income economies. Among them, Burundi presented the lowest income per capita, some 230 U.S. dollars. Poverty and population growth in Africa Despite a few countries being in the high income and upper-middle countries classification, Africa had a significant number of people living under extreme poverty. However, this number is expected to decline gradually in the upcoming years, with experts forecasting that this number will decrease to almost 400 million individuals by 2030 from nearly 430 million in 2023, despite the continent currently having the highest population growth rate globally. African economic growth and prosperity In recent years, Africa showed significant growth in various industries, such as natural gas production, clean energy generation, and services exports. Furthermore, it is forecast that the GDP growth rate would reach 4.5 percent by 2027, keeping the overall positive trend of economic growth in the continent.

Abstract

Work to improve the investment climate is recognized as a key pillar of efforts to promote economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. World Bank initiated Investment Climate Assessments provide a standardized way of measuring and comparing investment climate conditions in a country. Underpinning all ICAs is a standard core Productivity and Investment Climate Survey (PICS) instrument, which allows the identification of existing conditions, the benchmarking of conditions to monitor changes over time, and the analysis of the impact of these conditions on firm-level performance. ICAs further employ a common structure and methodology to facilitate comparability between countries. The objective of the South Africa Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in South Africa in all its operational dimensions and promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The investment climate is made up of the many location-specific factors that shape the opportunities and incentives for firms to invest productively, create jobs, and expand. These factors include macroeconomic and regulatory policies; the security of property rights and the rule of law; and the quality of supporting institutions such as physical and financial infrastructure.

Geographic coverage

The survey was carried out in 4 major metropolitan areas of South Africa: Gauteng (about 63 % of the sample), Western Cape (23%), KwaZulu-Natal (9 %), and Eastern Cape (5 %).

Analysis unit

Units of analysis in the study were business enterprises

Universe

The universe of interest in the survey was small (10-49 employees), medium (50-99 employees) and large (100-499 employees) enterprises in South Africa.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

About 800 firms were surveyed between January and December 2004. About 75 percent (603) of the sample were in the manufacturing sector, 14 percent in the construction industry and the remaining 11 percent in wholesale and retail trade. Within these broad sectors, firms were randomly selected from lists of firms registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (i.e. only formal registered enterprises are included in the sample). Although the samples should be broadly representative of formal firms within each sector, they are not representative of the entire economy. Because of this, and because the samples for comparator countries only cover manufacturing, data from the three sectors are presented separately in the main report. The sample included firms from major metropolitan areas in Gauteng (about 63 percent of the sample), Western Cape (23 percent), KwaZulu-Natal (9 percent), and Eastern Cape (5 percent). The sample was mainly composed of small (10-49 employees), medium (50-99 employees) and large (100-499 employees) enterprises, although about 14 percent of the sample were very large (over 500 employees). There were few microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees) in the sample, especially in the manufacturing sector.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The South African PICS survey used a standard core Productivity and Investment Climate Survey (PICS) questionnaire, designed by the World Bank. The PICS core questionnaire has two sections. The main section of the questionnaire collects data on the business and the investment climate in which it functions. This section should be administered to the enterprise's manager or owner. Data is collected on:

1. Firm ownership, activities, location
2. Sales (imports, exports, supply and demand, competition)
3. Investment climate constraints
4. Infrastructure and services (power, water, transport, ict infrastructure, business services)
5. Finance (including financial services)
6. Labor relations
7. Business-government relations:
8. Legal environment:
9. Security (cost of crimes, quality of police services)
10. Business innovation, learning:

The second part of the questionnaire consists of questions on production costs, investment flows, balance sheet information and workforce statistics. This section should be administered to the accounting department/book-keeper and human resources manager.

As of 2023, Algeria was the North African country with the highest contribution share of the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector to the gross domestic product (GDP), with this industry constituting around 13.2 percent of the economy. Overall, the agriculture sector plays a vital role within the North African countries, contributing at least10 percent to each national GDP of the region. The only exceptions are Sudan and Libya, where agricultural activities made up 5.6 percent and 1.6 percent of the GDP, respectively. For Sudan, the contribution of agriculture to the GDP dropped significantly compared to previous years due to several factors such as changes to the climate, and the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed forces and the Paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023. Agriculture and Economics Across Africa, agriculture is a core pillar of the economy, representing 17 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP in 2022, led by Sierra Leone and Niger. In addition to its economic presence, the sector also plays an important role in contributing to the job market. In fact, the number of people employed in agriculture in the continent reached 229 million in 2021. While Central and Western Africa boasted large shares of the agricultural workforce, North Africa recorded the lowest share of employment in the industry, due to the region’s heavy reliance on industrial and service sectors. Harvest and Land
The primary crops grown in Africa are roots and tubers, along with cereals. In fact, Egypt and Morocco led the North African region in 2021, with the highest amounts of cereals produced. Within the continent, Sudan and South Africa possess the largest agricultural land areas, with around 113 million and 96.3 million hectares, respectively. However, Burundi dedicated the largest share of land to growing crops at 82 percent, with Rwanda following close behind at 81 percent.

Zimbabwe had the highest inflation in Africa as of 2023. The rate reached roughly 172 percent when compared to the previous year, according to the source's estimates. This was followed by Sudan, with a rate increase of over 71 percent. Inflationary pressures in the country have been driven by a long-running economic crisis and political instability. By the end of 2021, the already fragile Sudanese economy suffered again when military forces took control of the government. With a

South Africa is expected to register the highest unemployment rate in Africa in 2024, with around 30 percent of the country's labor force being unemployed. Djibouti and Eswatini followed, with unemployment reaching roughly 28 percent and 25 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the lowest unemployment rates in Africa were in Niger and Burundi. The continent’s average stood at roughly seven percent in the same year.

Large shares of youth among the unemployed

Due to several educational, socio-demographic, and economic factors, the young population is more likely to face unemployment in most regions of the world. In 2024, the youth unemployment rate in Africa was projected at around 11 percent. The situation was particularly critical in certain countries. In 2022, Djibouti recorded a youth unemployment rate of almost 80 percent, the highest rate on the continent. South Africa followed, with around 52 percent of the young labor force being unemployed.

Wide disparities in female unemployment

Women are another demographic group often facing high unemployment. In Africa, the female unemployment rate stood at roughly eight percent in 2023, compared to 6.6 percent among men. The average female unemployment on the continent was not particularly high. However, there were significant disparities among African countries. Djibouti and South Africa topped the ranking once again in 2022, with female unemployment rates of around 38 percent and 31 percent, respectively. In contrast, Niger, Burundi, and Chad were far below Africa’s average, as only roughly one percent or lower of the women in the labor force were unemployed.

The fastest growing city in Africa is Bujumbura, in Burundi. In 2020, this city had an estimated population of about one million. By 2035, the population of Bujumbura could increase by 123 percent and reach roughly 2.3 million people. Zinder, in Niger, had about half million inhabitants in 2020 and, with a growth rate of 118 percent, is Africa's second fastest growing city. In 2035, Zinder could have over one million residents.

As of 2021, the largest city in whole Africa is Lagos, in Nigeria. Other highly populated cities in Africa are Kinshasa, in Congo, Cairo, and Alexandria, both located in Egypt.

The number of international tourist arrivals in Northern Africa was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 9.6 million arrivals (+27.67 percent). After the ninth consecutive increasing year, the arrivals is estimated to reach 44.31 million arrivals and therefore a new peak in 2029. Depicted is the number of inbound international tourists. According to World Bank this refers to tourists travelling to a country which is not their usual residence, whereby the main purpose is not work related and the planned visitation period does not exceed 12 months. The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of international tourist arrivals in countries like Western Africa and Eastern Africa.

In 2022, China had more smartphone users than any country in the world at more than 974 million. India had the second most smartphone users, amounting to around 659. These two countries are expected to continue to lead the smartphone user ranking, as China and India also rank one and two in regards to the largest populations worldwide and still have strong growth potential due to a relatively low smartphone penetration rate.

Smartphone penetration as economic indicator
The smartphone penetration rate can be used as one indicator to measure how advanced the economy of a country is. A smartphone penetration rate above 70 percent, for example, is common in countries with advanced economies. Outside Western Europe and the United States, smartphone penetration was highest in South Korea, as more than 76 percent of the population is using a smartphone. Japan is a notable exception to the 70 percent line, with penetration rates just under 60 percent.

Smartphone growth opportunities
After annual smartphone sales more than tripled from 2009 to 2015, the market began to plateau around 1.5 million units per year. Growth for the smartphone market is, however, still possible in emerging economies in Africa with large populations, such as Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, Congo, Tanzania, and Nigeria, where mobile phone penetration is already high or picking up, but smartphones are not as pronounced yet.