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.

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. As of 2025, the country counted over 237.5 million individuals, whereas Ethiopia, which ranked second, has around 135.5 million inhabitants. Egypt registered the largest population in North Africa, reaching nearly 118.4 million people. In terms of inhabitants per square kilometer, Nigeria only ranked seventh, while Mauritius had the highest population density on the whole African continent in 2023. The fastest-growing world region Africa is the second most populous continent in the world, after Asia. Nevertheless, Africa records the highest growth rate worldwide, with figures rising by over two percent every year. In some countries, such as Chad, South Sudan, Somalia, and the Central African Republic, the population increase peaks at over 3.4 percent. With so many births, Africa is also the youngest continent in the world. However, this coincides with a low life expectancy. African cities on the rise The last decades have seen high urbanization rates in Asia, mainly in China and India. African cities are also growing at large rates. Indeed, the continent has three megacities and is expected to add four more by 2050. Furthermore, Africa's fastest-growing cities are forecast to be Bujumbura, in Burundi, and Zinder, Nigeria, by 2035.

This dataset provides values for GDP 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, 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.

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.

This horizontal bar chart displays male population (people) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation sum in Africa. The data is about countries.

This horizontal bar chart displays rural population (people) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation sum in Africa. The data is about countries.

South Africa's total Imports in 2024 were valued at US$101.24 Billion, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. South Africa's main import partners were: China, India and Germany. The top three import commodities were: Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products; Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers and Electrical, electronic equipment. Total Exports were valued at US$110.11 Billion. In 2024, South Africa had a trade surplus of US$8.87 Billion.

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.

This horizontal bar chart displays GDP (current US$) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation sum in Middle Africa. The data is about countries.

This horizontal bar chart displays expense (% of GDP) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation average, weighted by gdp in Africa. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays urban population (people) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation sum in Africa. The data is about countries.

As of February 2025, Morocco had an internet penetration of over 92 percent, making it the country with the highest internet penetration in Africa. Libya ranked second, with 88.5 percent, followed by Seychelles with over 87 percent. On the other hand, The Central African Republic, Chad, and Burundi had the lowest prevalence of internet among their population. Varying but growing levels of internet adoption Although internet usage varies significantly across African countries, the overall number of internet users on the continent jumped to around 646 million from close to 181 million in 2014. Of those, almost a third lived in Nigeria and Egypt only, two of the three most populous countries on the continent. Furthermore, internet users are expected to surge, reaching over 1.1 billion users by 2029. Mobile devices dominate web traffic Most internet adoptions on the continent occurred recently. This is among the reasons mobile phones increasingly play a significant role in connecting African populations. As of early January 2024, around 74 percent of the web traffic in Africa was via mobile phones, over 14 percentage points higher than the world average. Furthermore, almost all African countries have a higher web usage on mobile devices compared to other devices, with rates as high as 92 percent in Sudan. This is partly due to mobile connections being cheaper and not requiring the infrastructure needed for traditional desktop PCs with fixed-line internet connections.

This horizontal bar chart displays GDP (current US$) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation sum in Eastern Africa. The data is about countries.

India IHIS: Percentage of Hotel Guest Arrivals: Three-Star: South Africa data was reported at 5.400 % in 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.500 % for 2017. India IHIS: Percentage of Hotel Guest Arrivals: Three-Star: South Africa data is updated yearly, averaging 2.400 % from Mar 2000 (Median) to 2018, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.400 % in 2018 and a record low of 1.800 % in 2005. India IHIS: Percentage of Hotel Guest Arrivals: Three-Star: South Africa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Hotel Sector – Table IN.QHB015: Indian Hotel Industry Survey: Percentage of Hotel Guest Arrivals: by Major Countries.

This horizontal bar chart displays GDP (current US$) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation sum in South Africa. The data is about countries per year.

Gold mining in Africa has seen a paradigm shift from South Africa’s dominance to the rising importance of the West African region in the last decade in terms of production. Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Mali the top three gold-producing countries in West Africa and together accounts for 33% of Africa’s total gold production. The economic viability and geographical potential have been the prime reasons for investors’ interest in gold mining in West Africa. COVID-19 has impacted production, with the collective output of these three countries falling by 4.7% in 2020, with the greatest declines in Ghana and Mali with falls of 7.5% and 5.6% respectively. However, production from Burkina Faso was estimated to have grown by 2% in 2020, despite the impact of COVID-19. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd, Newmont Corp., Gold Fields Limited, and B2Gold Corp. are the four largest gold producers in the West Africa region. Read More

In this activity, students will explore how the Ebola virus outbreak occurred in West Africa through graphing prevalence, incidence and mortality data from the three major countries that were affected by the Ebola virus in 2014 - 2016

The North-African nation Morocco ranked first among the African countries with the most international tourist arrivals, accounting for almost **** million arrivals in 2024. Following in second place and third place were Egypt and Tunisia, which received around **** million and **** million arrivals, respectively.    Which is the top tourist spot?  Egypt ranked first in terms of international tourism receipts in 2023, which amounted to approximately **** billion U.S. dollars. Morocco, South Africa, and Tanzania followed, with international tourist receipts of around **** billion, *** billion, and *** billion U.S. dollars, respectively. Furthermore, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa have been the three leading countries since 2019. Regarding the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) in Africa in 2024, which measures factors and policies that make a country eligible for investments in the travel and tourism sector, South Africa, Mauritius, and Egypt held the top spots. South Africa received a TTCI score of **** out of seven, while Mauritius and Egypt received **** and **** points, respectively. Comparatively, Botswana and Kenya came in next.

This horizontal bar chart displays birth rate (per 1,000 people) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation average, weighted by population in Africa. The data is about countries.