This is a list of richest countries in Africa as of 2020 by GDP (PPP) per capita according to the latest research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Africa is a natural resource-rich continent. In fact, the continent holds around 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves. Sadly, this does not reflect the state of Africa’s economy. Very few countries have been able to fully utilise these untapped resources. The main reason being political instability and lagging behind in terms of technology.
Using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP), Equatorial Guinea ranks as the richest country in Africa as of 2019 with a GDP (PPP) per capita of $34,865 while the Central African Republic is the poorest with a GDP (PPP) per capita of $681. GDP per capita is a measure of a country’s economic output divided by its total population while purchasing power parity (PPP) is a measure of price level differences across countries based on currency values.
Below is the full list of richest countries in Africa by GDP (PPP) per capita 2020.
|
Country |
GDP per capita (PPP) in US Dollars |
1 |
Equatorial Guinea |
34,865 |
2 |
Seychelles |
28,712 |
3 |
Mauritius |
21,628 |
4 |
Gabon |
19,266 |
5 |
Botswana |
18,146 |
6 |
Algeria |
15,150 |
7 |
South Africa |
13,403 |
8 |
Egypt |
12,994 |
9 |
Tunisia |
11,987 |
10 |
Namibia |
11,528 |
11 |
Swaziland |
9,882
|
12 |
Libya |
9,792 |
13 |
Morocco |
8,612 |
14 |
Cape Verde |
6,942 |
15 |
Angola |
6,813 |
16 |
Republic of the Congo |
6,707 |
17 |
Nigeria |
5,927 |
18 |
Ghana |
4,605 |
19 |
Sudan |
4,580 |
20 |
Mauritania |
4,474 |
21 |
Zambia |
3,997 |
22 |
Lesotho |
3,869 |
23 |
Ivory Coast |
3,857 |
24 |
Djibouti |
3,567 |
25 |
Kenya |
3,496 |
26 |
Cameroon |
3,359 |
27 |
Tanzania |
3,283 |
28 |
São Tomé and Príncipe |
3,208 |
29 |
Senegal |
2,678 |
30 |
Chad |
2,433 |
31 |
Uganda |
2,352 |
32 |
Zimbabwe |
2,277 |
33 |
Benin |
2,219 |
34 |
Mali |
2,169 |
35 |
Ethiopia |
2,113 |
36 |
Rwanda |
2,081 |
37 |
Guinea |
2,039 |
38 |
Burkina Faso |
1,884 |
39 |
Guinea-Bissau |
1,806 |
40 |
Sierra Leone |
1,791 |
41 |
Gambia |
1,686 |
42 |
South Sudan |
1,503 |
43 |
Togo |
1,612 |
44 |
Comoros |
1,560 |
45 |
Madagascar |
1,554 |
46 |
Eritrea |
1,434 |
47 |
Mozambique |
1,266 |
48 |
Malawi |
1,172 |
49 |
Niger |
1,153 |
50 |
Liberia |
867 |
51 |
Burundi |
808 |
52 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
785 |
53 |
Central African Republic |
681 |
54 |
Somalia |
N/A |