10 African countries with the highest GDP per capita

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita stands as a fundamental metric in the realm of economics, offering invaluable insights into the economic health and well-being of a nation’s population. It serves as a tool for comparing living standards, gauging economic development, and assessing the distribution of wealth within a country.

GDP per capita is a calculation that divides a country’s total economic output, or GDP, by its population. The resulting figure offers an approximation of the average economic output per individual in the country. This measure enables a more comprehensive evaluation of economic performance beyond the overall GDP, as it accounts for population size.

GDP per capita figures vary drastically among countries, and even with a continent, there can exist a massive disparity between one country’s GDP per capita and another. Africa’s economic reality reflects this point. The continent is rife with numerous resources, be it natural and human resources and its status as a developing region means that some countries are prime to enjoy a large GDP per capita, while others aren’t quite there yet.

The disparity in GDP per capita across Africa is stark. On one end of the spectrum, countries like Seychelles and Mauritius boast comparatively high GDP per capita figures, driven by thriving tourism and service sectors. This could be due to huge GDP revenue juxtaposed against a controlled population, or it could just speak to the ingenuity and competence of administrators within the country.

On the other hand, several Sub-Saharan African countries, like Chad and Central African Republic, struggle with low GDP per capita due to a mix of factors including political instability, lack of infrastructure, and limited access to education and healthcare.

Below are the African countries at the high end of the spectrum, countries on the continent that boast ten of the best GDP per capita figures.

This list is courtesy of TradingEconomics, a data platform that offers its customers precise data for 196 nations, including historical data and projections for more than 20 million economic indicators, currency rates, stock market indices, government bond yields, and commodity prices. The figures represent GDP per capita as of December 2022.