By Wangu Kanuri
Angola and Ethiopia have overtaken Kenya on Africa’s richest countries list, according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The data seen by Nairobi News shows that Kenya has now moved down from sixth to the eighth richest country in Africa in the past year, despite the country’s overall gross domestic product improving from 100 to 117 billion USD over the same period.
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the standard measure of the value added created through the production of goods and services in a country during a certain period. As such, it also measures the income earned from that production or the total amount spent on final goods and services (less imports).
As per the latest rankings, Angola is now ranked sixth on Africa’s rich list with a GDP of 135 billion.
Angola’s emergence as a force in Africa is attributed to the high cost of fuel. The Southern African country is the second largest oil producer on the continent.
The price of the precious commodity has almost doubled in the past year owing to external forces such as the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the stability in Ethiopia, occasioned by a truce in the internal war involving the Tigray and government forces has stabilized the country’s economy.
Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa, after Nigeria.
Kenya’s economy meanwhile slowed down in 2022, mainly owing to the political season and election jitters which slowed down investment. Other factors such as drought, increased importation of food and the shilling depreciation against the dollar has negatively impacted on Kenya’s economy.
The dwindling economy has made a number of Kenyans struggle to put food on the table owing to the high cost of living. Additionally, the lack of rain has made the drought to persist worsening the availability of food.
Though bogged down by a lack of amenities such as electricity, road network and security, Nigeria remains the richest African country, closely followed by Egypt and South Africa.
Nigeria’s economy is powered by oil exportation, a savvy human resource, and talented sports athletes and artists who remitt millions of dollars back home each year. South Africa’s economy has meanwhile also slowed down and is yet to fully recover from the shocks of Covid-19, civil unrest and a persistence lack of electricity.
Algeria and Morocco are fourth and fifth on the richlist, respectively.
Tanzania and Ivory Coast are ranked ninth and tenth behind Kenya.
Top ten richest African countries.
Nigeria – 574 billion USD
Egypt – 471 billion
South Africa – 436 billion
Algeria – 190 billion
Morocco – 150 billion
Angola – 135 billion
Ethiopia – 126 billion
Kenya – 117 billion
Tanzania – 84 billion
Cote d’Ivorie – 72 billion
Source: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile