Top 10 wealthiest African countries according to GDP | Swordpress Nigeria

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The African continent is rich in natural resources. Some
of its 54 countries boast resources like diamonds, sugar,
gold, uranium, silver, oil and petroleum. Oil being an invaluable
commodity, its production puts countries like Nigeria and Egypt at
the top in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The continent is also home to fertile ground capable of growing
a wide array of agricultural produce, bringing about plenty of
opportunities for trade. Despite social, political, and
other issues some of its countries have had to deal with,
Africa continues to make a name for itself as a land rich with
opportunity.

Drawing from statistics provided by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) IT News Africa compiled a list of the
top ten wealthiest African countries for 2017.

1. Nigeria
With a GDP of $376.284bn in 2017, Nigeria has the highest GDP in
Africa on top of having the largest population. With a current
population of 195 million based on the latest United Nations
estimates, Nigeria is a powerhouse of economy and development
compared to its neighbours. With an abundance of natural resources,
some of the country’s biggest exports include oil, cocoa, and
rubber. In fact, Nigeria is Africa’s largest crude oil supplier.
Not to mention the rich agricultural sector that’s responsible for
18% of the country’s GDP and almost a third of employment. Ranking
first in Africa in terms of farm output, Nigeria’s main
agricultural exports are cocoa, peanuts, rubber, and palm oil.

2. South Africa
South Africa has the second largest economy in Africa, after
Nigeria, with a GDP of $349.299bn. Statistics were higher than
expected for 2017, seeing as the country’s economy grew by 1.3%,
just higher than the National Treasury’s expectation of 1.0%. The
highest performing industry to contribute to this growth was
agriculture, followed by mining and manufacturing. A demand for
manganese ore, chrome, iron ore, and anything used in the
production of steel helped spur on this growth. Some of the
country’s key exports include corn, diamonds, and fruit.
Considering that South Africa is the world’s second-largest
producer of gold, it should come as no surprise that this precious
metal is also one of the country’s main exports.

3. Egypt
Egypt has a long, rich trade history with plenty of ups and downs.
After the 2011 revolution, foreign exchange reserves fell
considerably. Reserves fell from $36bn in December 2010 to only
$16.3bn in January 2012. The revolution also negatively impacted
the country’s economic growth, urging the government towards
economic reform that’ll focus on sustainable growth. The GDP in
2017 was $237.037bn. Some of the country’s main exports include
petroleum, insulated wire, video displays, and gold. The biggest
non-petroleum based industries are tourism, textile production,
food processing.

4. Algeria
Algeria had a nominal GDP of $178.287bn in 2017, but the country’s
economic growth slowed down in the same year due to a slight
decline in hydrocarbon production. Petroleum and natural gases are
the country’s most important mineral resources, with the biggest
exports being either mined or manufactured, while agriculture plays
a comparatively minor role. However, examples of some of Algeria’s
principle farm crops that are exported are wheat, oats, citrus
fruit, olives, and dates.

5. Angola
Angola is still plagued by a 27-year-long civil war that began
immediately after becoming independent from Portugal in 1975,
before finally coming to an end in 2002. But the country’s economy
picked up considerably in the years following the war and is today
considered one of the fastest-growing in the world, despite recent
struggles with the global oil market. In 2017 it had a GDP of
$124.209bn, but the sharp decline in global oil prices have caused
GDP growth to drop to 1.5% from 10.3% pre-2014. The government
intervened by cutting expenditure, increasing non-oil revenue, and
devaluing the kwanza. Angola exports crude oil, petroleum products,
diamonds, fish, fish products, coffee, sisal, cotton, and lumber
and its biggest industries are oil, diamonds, agriculture, and
fishing.

6. Morocco
Morocco’s GDP was $109.824bn in 2017. The services sector accounts
for just over half of GDP and industry a quarter, made up of
mining, primarily phosphate rock mining, construction, and
manufacturing. Tourism, telecoms and textile sector
recorded the highest growth. Important exports excluding
phosphates are electric components, inorganic chemicals,
transistors, citrus fruits, vegetables, and fish.

7. Ethiopia
With a 2017 GDP of $80.874bn, Ethiopia has one of the
fastest-growing economies in the world and has the second largest
population in Africa. According to the IMF World Economic Outlook,
growth for 2018 is predicted at around 8.5%. The country’s
accelerated economic growth is driven largely by industrial
activity, seeing investments in infrastructure like the Grand
Renaissance Dam and a light rail system, as well as manufacturing.
Some of Ethiopia’s major exports include coffee, leather, textiles,
natural gum, spices, and mineral products. Agriculture is perhaps
the country’s largest industry seeing as the banking,
telecommunications, and transportation sectors are dominated by
state-owned companies.

8. Kenya
Kenya had a GDP of $79.511bn in 2017. Trade is a crucial part of
the country’s growth. According to www.heritage.org, the combined
value of exports and imports equals 38 percent of GDP. The
agricultural sector dominates Kenya’s economy. The country’s main
industries are agriculture, industry and manufacturing, and
services. With a rich agricultural sector, Kenya produces tea,
coffee, sisal, pyrethrum, corn, and wheat are grown in the fertile
highlands. Livestock predominates to the north and east, while
coconuts, pineapples, cashew nuts, cotton, sugarcane, sisal, and
corn are grown in the lower-lying areas. Tourism also plays a big
role in Kenya’s service industry despite taking a downturn due to
security issues and negative publicity.

9. Sudan
Sudan had a GDP of $58.239bn in 2017, averaging 4.26% in terms of
annual growth rate from 2005 until 2017. Despite the significant
growth, Sudan still faces an array of problems such as political
conflicts and lack of basic infrastructure in large areas. Most of
the population also relies heavily on subsistence farming. Coupled
with the aforementioned issues, a lot of Sudanese people will stay
at or fall below the poverty line. As for the secession of South
Sudan, the country lost three-quarters of its oil production in
2011, a massive blow considering that the oil industry drove much
of Sudan’s GDP growth since 1999. As a large Arab nation, Sudan has
a rich history dating back to the time of the ancient Egyptians and
Nubians. As a result, the country is dotted with ancient pyramids
that attract tourists from other Arab and Western countries,
subsequently contributing to Sudan’s tourism industry. A few of the
other leading industries include cotton ginning, cement, soap
distilling and pharmaceuticals. The country’s main exports are oil
and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts,
Arabic gum, and sugar.

10. Tanzania
In 2017, according to the IMF, Tanzania’s GDP was $51.725bn. Half
of the country’s workforce find employment in the agricultural
sector, while the rest are divided between mining, manufacturing,
food processing, and telecommunications. The heavy reliance on
agriculture makes Tanzania vulnerable to environmental shocks and
commodity prices. Some of its main exports are minerals like gold
and diamonds, coffee, cotton, tea, and tobacco. Tanzania’s tourism
is also on the up. Approximately 38 percent of land area is set
aside in protected areas for conservation, but are used as game
reserves and national parks. The country is also home to Mount
Kilimanjaro, attracting the attention of international tourists who
want to visit the sleeping giant. 17.5% of 2016’s GDP came from
tourism and is anticipated to keep increasing.

*All figures correct as of 2017.

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