Economy of Africa

Economy of Africa

Lagos is the largest city in Africa.
Currency	List of currencies in Africa
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA, WTO, UN
Country group	Emerging markets Developing economies Least Developed Countries in certain regions
Statistics
Population	1.47 billion (2024 estimate)[1]
GDP	$3.01 trillion (nominal; 2024)[2] $8.74 trillion (PPP; 2024)[3]
GDP growth	3.7% (2023)[4] 4.2% (2024)[5]
GDP per capita	$2,047 (nominal; 2024) $5,948 (PPP; 2024)[6]
GDP by sector	Agriculture: 20% Industry: 25% Services: 55% (2023 estimate)[7]
Inflation (CPI)	12.8% (2023)[8] 10.5% (2024f)[9]
Population below poverty line	Over 33% living below $1.90/day (2024 estimate)[10]
Gini coefficient	40.0 (2023 estimate; moderate inequality)[11]
Human Development Index	0.546 (medium; 2021)[12]
Labour force	500 million (2023)[13]
Unemployment	7.8% (2023)[14]
Main industries	Mining Oil and gas Agribusiness Tourism Textiles Construction Telecommunications Manufacturing
External
Exports	$720 billion (2023 estimate)[15]
Export goods	crude oil, gold, diamonds, agricultural products, minerals
Main export partners	China 15%  European Union 10%  United States 8%  India 7%  UAE 5% (2023 estimate)[16]
Imports	$800 billion (2023 estimate)[17]
Import goods	machinery, electronics, vehicles, food, medical supplies
Main import partners	China 18%  European Union 14%  India 8%  United States 6%  Turkey 4% (2023 estimate)[18]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

World economy
Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania
v t e

The economy of Africa consists of the trade, industry, agriculture, and human resources of the continent. As of 2019^[update], approximately 1.3 billion people^[19] were living in 53 countries in Africa. Africa is a resource-rich continent.^[20][21] Recent growth has been due to growth in sales, commodities, services, and manufacturing.^[22] West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa and Southern Africa in particular, are expected to reach a combined GDP of $29 trillion by 2050.^[23]

In March 2013, Africa was identified as the world's poorest inhabited continent; however, the World Bank expects that most African countries will reach "middle income" status (defined as at least US$1,025 per person a year) by 2025 if current growth rates continue.^[24] There are a number of reasons for Africa's poor economy: historically, even though Africa had a number of empires trading with many parts of the world, many people lived in rural societies; in addition, European colonization and the later Cold War created political, economic and social instability.^[25]

However, as of 2013^[update], Africa was the world's fastest-growing continent at 5.6% a year, and GDP is expected to rise by an average of over 6% a year between 2013 and 2023.^[20][26] In 2017, the African Development Bank reported Africa to be the world's second-fastest growing economy, and estimates that average growth will rebound to 3.4% in 2017, while growth increased to 4.2% in 2018.^[27] Growth has been present throughout the continent, with over one-third of African countries posting 6% or higher growth rates, and another 40% growing between 4% and 6% per year.^[20] Several international business observers have also named Africa as the future economic growth engine of the world.^[28]