Nigeria maintains largest African economy for fifth year in a row as Egypt catches up

Nigeria remains the largest African economy with a nominal GDP of $477.4 billion. The top three economies accounted for 49.5% of the African continent’s economy.

Angola recorded the fastest growth, while Zimbabwe contracted the most. Egypt is catching up with Nigeria with a GDP of $476.7 billion.

Nigeria maintained the position of the largest economy on the African continent for the fifth consecutive year in 2022, with a nominal GDP of $477.4 billion.

The giant of Africa, as it is mostly referred to, accounted for 17.4% of the African economy in the review year ($2.7 trillion).

This is according to data released by the World Bank. Nigeria has topped this list since 2018 when it overtook South Africa as the largest African economy.

According to the World Bank, Nigeria’s economy grew by 8.3% year over year in 2022 from $440.8 billion recorded in the previous year.

Egypt followed with a GDP estimate of $476.7 billion, having recorded a 12.3% growth in its GDP from $424.7 billion in 2021. In third position was South Africa with an estimate of $405.9 billion.

It is worth noting that the top three economies on the continent account for almost half of the continent’s economy (49.5%).

Other countries that made the list of the top 10 largest economies in Africa include Algeria ($191.9 billion), Ethiopia ($126.8 billion), Kenya ($113.4 billion), Angola ($106.7 billion), Tanzania ($75.7 billion), Ghana ($72.8 billion), and Cote d’Ivoire ($70 billion).

Egypt is however catching up with Nigeria on the list of largest economies on the African continent after the northeastern country expanded by 12.3% to $476.7 billion, almost levelling with Nigeria.

Egypt surpassed South Africa in 2020 as the second-largest African economy and has remained in that position to date.

Fastest growing economies

On the list of fastest-growing economies on the African continent, Angola topped the list with a growth rate of 62.5%. Specifically, the GDP of the central African country increased from $65.7 billion recorded in 2021 to $106.7 billion in 2022.

According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), the growth was spurred by sustained high oil prices, which averaged $100.65/barrel in 2022.

Sudan followed with a growth rate of 50.9% as GDP grew from $34.2 billion to $51.7 billion in the review year. Zambia recorded a growth rate of 34.5% to stand in third position, while Guinea was the fourth fastest growing with a nominal growth rate of 31.9%. Seychelles grew by 23.4% to $1.59 billion in 2022.

On the flip side, Zimbabwe recorded the highest contraction of 27.1% as its nominal GDP dropped from $28.4 billion to $20.7 billion. Ghana followed with an 8% contraction, while the GDP of Sierra Leone dipped by 6.6% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the continent’s economy expanded by 3.8% to $2.7 trillion from $2.5 trillion recorded in the previous year, despite different headwinds, which impact most economies on the continent, ranging from high inflationary pressure, fiscal deficit, and high debt amongst others.

What they are saying

The African Development Bank has said that Africa is poised to become the second-fastest growing region globally in 2023, following Asia, underscoring the resilience of its economy in the face of numerous global shocks.

However, the attainment of this projected growth hinges on both global circumstances and Africa’s capacity to enhance its economic resilience, as indicated by the 2023 African Economic Outlook report by the African Development Bank.

The report, unveiled by the regional bank, predicts that Africa will strengthen its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a 4.3% increase in GDP growth in 2024, up from 3.8% in 2022. It further highlights that 22 countries are expected to achieve growth rates exceeding 5%.

It, however, recommended robust policy actions, including incentivizing green industries, and providing guarantees at scale to de-risk private sector investments in managing natural capital across the continent.