Income per capita in Africa 2023, by country

Seychelles recorded the highest Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in Africa as of 2023, at 16,940 U.S. dollars. The African island was, therefore, the only high-income country on the continent, according to the source's classification. Mauritius, Gabon, Botswana, Libya, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, and Namibia were defined as upper-middle-income economies, those with a GNI per capita between 4,516 U.S. dollars and 14,005 U.S. dollars. On the opposite, 20 African countries recorded a GNI per capita below 1,145 U.S. dollars, being thus classified as low-income economies. Among them, Burundi presented the lowest income per capita, some 230 U.S. dollars.

Poverty and population growth in Africa

Despite a few countries being in the high income and upper-middle countries classification, Africa had a significant number of people living under extreme poverty. However, this number is expected to decline gradually in the upcoming years, with experts forecasting that this number will decrease to almost 400 million individuals by 2030 from nearly 430 million in 2023, despite the continent currently having the highest population growth rate globally. 

African economic growth and prosperity

In recent years, Africa showed significant growth in various industries, such as natural gas production, clean energy generation, and services exports. Furthermore, it is forecast that the GDP growth rate would reach 4.5 percent by 2027, keeping the overall positive trend of economic growth in the continent.