GDP of African countries 2021, by country

Nigeria's GDP amounted to 441.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, the highest in Africa. To follow, South Africa's GDP was worth 418 billion U.S. dollars and ranked as the second-highest on the continent. After Egypt, the third largest economy, two other North African countries - Algeria and Morocco - came next on the list. African economies are growing fast. Among the countries with the highest GDP growth rate worldwide, African nations dominated the ranking.

Dependency on oil

For some African countries, the oil industry represents an enormous source of income. In Nigeria, oil generates almost 10 percent of the country’s GDP. 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, Nigeria has Africa’s highest GDP, but also counts the 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.