South Africa concentrated the largest amount of private wealth in Africa as of 2021, some 651 billion U.S. dollars. Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya followed, establishing the five wealthier markets in the continent. The wealth value referred to assets, such as cash, properties, and business interests, held by individuals living in each country, with liabilities discounted. Overall, Africa counted in the same year approximately 136,000 high net worth individuals (HNWIs), each with net assets of one million U.S. dollars or more.

 COVID-19 and wealth constraints  

Africa held 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars of total private wealth in 2021. The amount slightly increased in comparison to the previous year, when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to job losses, drops in salaries, and the closure of many local businesses. However, compared to 2011, total private wealth in Africa declined 4.5 percent, constrained by poor performances in Angola, Egypt, and Nigeria. By 2031, however, the private wealth is expected to rise nearly 40 percent in the continent.

 The richest in Africa 

Besides 125 thousand millionaires, Africa counted 6,700 multimillionaires and 305 centimillionaires as of December 2021. Furthermore, there were 21 billionaires in the African continent, each with a wealth of one billion U.S. dollars and more. The richest person in Africa is the Nigerian Aliko Dangote. The billionaire is the founder and chairman of Dangote Cement, the largest cement producer on the whole continent. He also owns salt and sugar manufacturing companies.

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.

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.

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.

Johannesburg was the wealthiest city in Africa as of 2021. South Africa's biggest city held *** billion U.S. dollars in private wealth, while Cape Town followed with *** billion U.S. dollars. The country led the ranking of wealthiest nations in Africa. The wealth value referred to assets such as cash, properties, and business interests held by individuals living in each country, less liabilities. Moreover, government funds were excluded.

Libya was the richest country in oil in Africa as of 2021, accumulating 48.4 billion barrels of proved reserves. Nigeria followed with reserves of 36.9 billion barrels of crude oil, while Algeria’s reserves summed up to 12.2 billion barrels. That same year, total crude oil reserves in Africa stood at 125.3 billion barrels.  Oil production in Africa    Africa’s oil output reached nearly 8.4 million barrels per day in 2019. Although it owns the largest oil reserves in the continent, Libya has been registering a relatively low level of oil production, a result of conflicts and an unstable political situation. The country produced around 1.1 million barrels per day in 2019. In comparison, Nigeria, the biggest oil producer in Africa, generated some 2.1 million barrels per day that same year. Boosting the economy   Fossil fuels play a crucial role in oil-producing economies. In 2019, Nigeria led crude oil exports in Africa, with more than two million barrels of oil sold on the international market every day. Moreover, the sector accounted for seven percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP). In Angola, which is also an oil-rich country, the industry had an even higher contribution to the GDP, at nearly 40 percent.

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.

South Africa was home to the highest number of millionaires in Africa as of 2023. The country had ****** high net worth individuals (HNWIs), corresponding to roughly ********* of the total number of millionaires on the continent. Second, in rank, Egypt counted ****** HNWIs. According to the source, approximately ******* HNWIs lived in Africa, each with *** million U.S. dollars or more net assets, excluding government funds. The wealth value refers to assets such as cash, properties, and business interests held by individuals living in a country with fewer liabilities. The rich in Africa Compared to 2020, the number of African millionaires increased by nearly **** percent. This means that ****** people joined the group of individuals with minimum net assets of *** million U.S. dollars. The number of centi- and multimillionaires has increased as well. In 2022, the Nigerian Aliko Dangote held the title of the wealthiest person in Africa. Founder and chairman of Dangote Cement, the largest cement producer in the whole African continent, the billionaire also owns salt and sugar manufacturing companies. His net worth is estimated at nearly ** billion U.S. dollars. Trillions of U.S. dollars in riches Total private wealth in Africa amounted to *** trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, a slight increase from 2020. That year, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had led to job losses, drops in salaries, and the closure of many local businesses. Compared to other African countries, South Africa concentrated the largest private wealth. Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya completed the leading wealth markets. The five nations accounted for over ** percent of Africa’s total wealth in 2021.

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.

The average for 2021 based on 12 countries was 37 metric tons. The highest value was in Morocco: 288 metric tons and the lowest value was in Algeria: 0 metric tons. The indicator is available from 2002 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

As of January 2023, Aliko Dangote was the richest man in Africa. He had a net worth of around 13.5 billion U.S. dollars and ranked 128th worldwide. From Nigeria, he is the founder and chairman of the Dangote Group, a large conglomerate operating in several sectors including cement and sugar. The South African Johann Rupert and family followed as the second-richest people in Africa, with a net worth of 10.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Dangote Group continues to expand

Founded in 1981, the Dangote Group (Dangote Industries Limited) is among the largest conglomerates in Africa. Its main subsidiary, Dangote Cement Plc, is the main cement manufacturer on the African continent. The business went public in 2010 and is the largest company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In addition to the cement industry, the Group also manufactures and processes food products, such as sugar, flour, and salt. With Nigeria being the leading African country for oil production, Dangote expanded his business into the oil industry in recent years. For this purpose, the Group built Africa’s biggest oil refinery near Lagos, Nigeria.

Africa’s wealthiest countries

Wealth in Africa is concentrated in a few countries and, within those, in a few families. Counting the highest numbers of billionaires, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria are the wealthiest nations, having also the largest gross domestic products (GDPs) in Africa. These countries count the highest number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), which amounts to over 39,000 in South Africa. Not surprisingly, Johannesburg and Cape Town have the highest concentration of private wealth in Africa. Moreover, South Africa has the highest wealth per capita after Mauritius.

In 2021, Southern Africa's richest ** percent held around ** percent of the total wealth. Furthermore, the richest one percent in the region held over ** percent. The other African regions had a slightly smaller share of wealth with the wealthiest people. For instance, in West Africa, the richest ** percent held close to ** percent of the wealth, while the richest one percent held ** percent. On the other hand. The poorest ** percent in all the regions held lower than ***** percent of the wealth.

Compared to other African countries, Seychelles scored the highest in the Human Development Index (HDI) in 2022. The country also ranked 67th globally, as one of the countries with a very high human development. This was followed by Mauritius, Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia, with scores ranging from 0.80 to 0.73 points. On the other hand, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Somalia were among the countries in the region with the lowest index scores, indicating a low level of human development.

Over the past 30 years, there has been an almost constant reduction in the poverty rate worldwide. Whereas nearly ** percent of the world's population lived on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars in terms of 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 1990, this had fallen to *** percent in 2022. This is even though the world's population was growing over the same period. However, there was a small increase in the poverty rate during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when thousands of people became unemployed overnight. Moreover, the rising cost of living in the aftermath of the pandemic and spurred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 meant that many people were struggling to make ends meet. Poverty is a regional problem Poverty can be measured in relative and absolute terms. Absolute poverty concerns basic human needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and clean drinking water, whereas relative poverty looks at whether people in different countries can afford a certain living standard. Most countries that have a high percentage of their population living in absolute poverty, meaning that they are poor compared to international standards, are regionally concentrated. African countries are most represented among the countries in which poverty prevails the most. In terms of numbers, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have the most people living in poverty worldwide. Inequality on the rise How wealth, or the lack thereof, is distributed within the global population and even within countries is very unequal. In 2022, the richest one percent of the world owned almost half of the global wealth, while the poorest 50 percent owned less than two percent in the same year. Within regions, Latin America had the most unequal distribution of wealth, but this phenomenon is present in all world regions.

In 2022, Seychelles was the leading country in Africa in the African infrastructure development index (AIDI), with 98.88 points. It was followed by Egypt and Libya, which scored 88.91 and 84.72 points, respectively. The index indicates the status of infrastructure development across the continent.

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.

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.

Namibia led the uranium production in Africa as of 2021, with an output of 5,400 metric tons. Niger followed: the production stood at 2,642 metric tons in the country. Overall, Africa had the second-largest uranium production in the world that same year.

Namibia had 470,100 metric tons of uranium in recoverable resources as of 2021, the largest amount in Africa. Currently, the country presents the largest uranium production on the continent. South Africa, the second main uranium producer in Africa, had 320,900 recoverable resources of the mineral.

Which county has the most Facebook users? There are more than 383 million Facebook users in India alone, making it the leading country in terms of Facebook audience size. To put this into context, if India’s Facebook audience were a country, then it would be ranked third in terms of largest population worldwide. Apart from India, there are several other markets with more than 100 million Facebook users each: The United States, Indonesia, and Brazil with 196.9 million, 122.3 million, and 111.65 million Facebook users respectively. Facebook – the most used social media Meta, the company that was previously called Facebook, owns four of the most popular social media platforms worldwide, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram. As of the third quarter of 2021, there were around 3.5 billion cumulative monthly users of the company’s products worldwide. With around 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most popular social media worldwide. With an audience of this scale, it is no surprise that the vast majority of Facebook’s revenue is generated through advertising. Facebook usage by device As of July 2021, it was found that 98.5 percent of active users accessed their Facebook account from mobile devices. In fact, almost 81.8 percent of Facebook audiences worldwide access the platform only via mobile phone. Facebook is not only available through mobile browser as the company has published several mobile apps for users to access their products and services. As of the third quarter 2021, the four core Meta products were leading the ranking of most downloaded mobile apps worldwide, with WhatsApp amassing approximately six billion downloads.