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 PPP 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 INFLATION RATE 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 53 countries was 117869 sq. km. The highest value was in Democratic Republic of the Congo: 1250538.6 sq. km and the lowest value was in Djibouti: 58.7 sq. km. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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

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

As of February 2025, Nigeria had 107 million internet users - the highest number reported all over Africa. Meanwhile, Egypt ranked second with over 96 million users. The majority of web traffic in leading digital markets in Africa originated from mobile devices - in Nigeria, one of the countries with the largest number of internet users worldwide, 86.2 percent of web traffic was generated via smartphones and roughly 13.3 percent via PC devices. This is due in part to the fact that mobile connections are much cheaper and do not require the infrastructure that is needed for traditional desktop PCs with fixed-line internet connections. Anticipating remarkable growth: Africa's internet user surge and projected milestones The projected trend for Africa indicates a consistent rise in internet users from 2024 to 2029. It will have a collective addition of 337.3 million users (equivalent to a growth of 51.79 percent). Following fifteen successive years of growth, the user count is anticipated to reach a record high of 1.1 billion by 2029. Furthermore, the online penetration rate on the continent was 43 percent – which was below the global average, measured at around 68 percent. Unveiling internet trends The region has witnessed a steady increase in internet users over the years. In January 2024, Southern Africa stood out as the African region with the most substantial internet penetration rate, reaching approximately 73.1 percent. The proportion of individuals accessing the internet in this part of Africa and Northern Africa surpassed the global average (66.2 percent). Moreover, Morocco boasted an impressive internet penetration of about 91 percent, securing its position as Africa's foremost country. Libya held the second position with a penetration rate of approximately 88 percent, followed closely by Seychelles at around 86.7 percent.

This dataset provides values for TEMPERATURE 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.

The average for 2022 based on 53 countries was 47.15 percent. The highest value was in the Ivory Coast: 84.16 percent and the lowest value was in the Seychelles: 3.37 percent. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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

The Seychelles' GDP per capita amounted to 22,000 U.S. dollars in 2025, the highest in East Africa. Mauritius ranked second, with a GDP per capita worth around 13,000 U.S. dollars. Burundi, on the other hand, had the lowest average income per person, at about 160 U.S. dollars.

The average for 2023 based on 53 countries was 50.08 percent. The highest value was in Zimbabwe: 52.38 percent and the lowest value was in the Seychelles: 44.82 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Mauritius is classified as the most democratic country in Africa. As of 2023, Mauritius' democracy was given **** points, ranking as the only country in the whole continent as fully democratic. The index is based, according to the source, on the electoral process and pluralism, the government functions, political participation, and culture as well as civil liberties. Many Sub-Saharan and North African political systems are among the least democratic countries in the world. Burundi has the most authoritarian regime in Africa, with a score of **** points, while countries such as Botswana, Cabo Verde, South Africa, Namibia, and Lesotho fell within the "hybrid regimes", with a score ranging from **** points to **** points, meaning that they experience, for example, elections with irregularities, widespread corruption, and harassment of journalists. Democracy and freedom of speech in Sub-Saharan Africa One of the main key indicators of democracy is the ability of individuals to express their opinions freely. African countries varied strongly when it came to freedom of speech, for instance, countries Mauritius, Namibia, and Cabo Verde had high scores in both the democracy index and the civic space openness index in the last years. On the other hand, countries like Djibouti and Equatorial Guinea had relatively low scores in the same indices. Furthermore, in the last few years, several Sub-Saharan African countries faced a huge decline in the freedom index as well, with * out of the ** African countries with the largest decline in the freedom index being from this region. Africa divided: which region had more democracy? North African countries showed poor scores in the democracy index as well. Two-thirds of the countries in this region had a score below * points, indicating authoritarian rule. Even the countries with the highest scores in this region have relatively low scores compared to countries in the Sub-Saharan region.

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