Ranking of African Economies by GDP

3 February, 2026 lov 0 Comments 2 categories

Here is a ranking table of African countries by Nominal GDP (latest 2023/2024 estimates, primarily from IMF/World Bank) along with their major sources of income.

Important Notes:

GDP figures fluctuate with exchange rates, economic conditions, and data revisions.
“Major source of income” refers to the largest sector or export commodity driving the economy, though many nations have diversified sources.
Some smaller economies’ data may be less current.

Ranking of African Economies by GDP

Rank	Country	Nominal GDP (USD billions)	Major Source(s) of Income
1	Nigeria	~$390	Crude oil & natural gas
2	Egypt	~$385	Tourism, Suez Canal, remittances, natural gas
3	South Africa	~$380	Mining (gold, platinum, diamonds), manufacturing, finance
4	Algeria	~$240	Oil & natural gas
5	Ethiopia	~$205	Agriculture (coffee, oilseeds), light manufacturing, services
6	Morocco	~$152	Agriculture (phosphates), tourism, automotive manufacturing
7	Kenya	~$115	Agriculture (tea, horticulture), services, technology
8	Angola	~$107	Crude oil & diamonds
9	Tanzania	~$85	Gold, agriculture, natural gas
10	Ghana	~$76	Gold, cocoa, oil
11	Côte d’Ivoire	~$79	Cocoa, cashews, petroleum products
12	DR Congo	~$68	Mining (cobalt, copper), oil
13	Uganda	~$52	Oil (developing sector), agriculture (coffee), remittances
14	Tunisia	~$51	Tourism, olive oil, phosphates
15	Cameroon	~$49	Oil, agriculture, timber
16	Libya	~$45*	Oil & gas (volatile due to conflict)
17	Zambia	~$30	Copper, agriculture
18	Senegal	~$30	Gold, phosphates, tourism, services
19	Zimbabwe	~$33	Gold, agriculture (tobacco), platinum
20	Sudan	~$32*	Gold, oil (pre-secession), agriculture (volatile)
21	Guinea	~$24	Mining (bauxite, gold)
22	Mali	~$23	Gold, cotton
23	Burkina Faso	~$21	Gold, cotton
24	Benin	~$19	Cotton, port services, agriculture
25	Rwanda	~$14	Services, tourism, tea & coffee
26	Mozambique	~$21	Natural gas (LNG), coal, aluminum
27	Niger	~$19	Uranium, oil (recent expansion)
28	Malawi	~$13	Agriculture (tobacco, tea, sugar)
29	Chad	~$13	Oil, agriculture
30	Madagascar	~$16	Vanilla, mining, tourism
31	Mauritius	~$15	Financial services, tourism, textiles
32	Namibia	~$13	Mining (uranium, diamonds), fishing
33	Botswana	~$21	Diamonds, beef, tourism
34	Mauritania	~$11	Iron ore, gold, fishing
35	Somalia	~$11*	Livestock, remittances, telecommunications
36	Congo, Republic	~$17	Oil, forestry
37	South Sudan	~$6*	Oil (infrastructure challenges)
38	Togo	~$9	Phosphate mining, port services, agriculture
39	Sierra Leone	~$4	Iron ore, diamonds, gold
40	Eritrea	~$3*	Mining, agriculture, ports
41	Liberia	~$4	Iron ore, rubber, shipping registry
42	Central African Republic	~$3	Gold, diamonds, timber
43	Lesotho	~$2	Textiles, water exports to South Africa, diamonds
44	Burundi	~$3	Agriculture (coffee, tea), mining (nickel)
45	Eswatini	~$4	Sugar, forestry, manufacturing
46	Cabo Verde	~$3	Tourism, remittances, services
47	The Gambia	~$2	Tourism, peanuts, remittances
48	Guinea-Bissau	~$2	Cashews, fishing
49	Comoros	~$1	Vanilla, cloves, tourism
50	Seychelles	~$2	Tourism, tuna fishing
51	São Tomé and Príncipe	~$0.7	Cocoa, tourism
52	Djibouti	~$4	Port services, logistics, military bases

Sources & Caveats:

GDP data is approximate from IMF WEO (2024), World Bank (2023), and African Development Bank estimates.
Economies heavily reliant on commodities (e.g., oil, minerals) are volatile with global prices.
Some nations (e.g., Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda) are rapidly diversifying into services, technology, and manufacturing.
- indicates data uncertainty due to conflict, informal economy, or delayed reporting.