Nigeria has retained its position asthe largest economy on the African continent for the fifth consecutive year in 2022, with a nominal GDP of $477.4 billion.
This is according to data released by the World Bank.
The data shows that the country accounted for 17.4 per cent of the African economy in the review year ($2.7 trillion).
The World Bank said Nigeria’s economy grew by 8.3 per cent year over year in 2022 from $440.8 billion recorded in the previous year and Egypt followed with a GDP estimate of $476.7 billion, having recorded a 12.3 per cent growth in its GDP from $424.7 billion in 2021, while South Africa came third with an estimate of $405.9 billion.
The economy of Egypt which is almost levelling up with Nigeria, expanded by 12.3 per cent to $476.7 billion.
Egypt surpassed South Africa in 2020 as the second-largest African economy and has remained in that position to date.
The top three economies on the continent account for almost half of the continent’s economy (49.5 per cent).
Other countries that made the list of the top 10 largest economies in Africa are 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).
Angola topped the list of fastest-growing economies on the African continent with a growth rate of 62.5 per cent. 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 per cent to stand in third position, while Guinea was the fourth fastest growing with a nominal growth rate of 31.9 per cent. Seychelles grew by 23.4 per cent to $1.59 billion in 2022.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe recorded the highest contraction of 27.1 per cent as its nominal GDP dropped from $28.4 billion to $20.7 billion. Ghana followed with an 8 per cent contraction, while the GDP of Sierra Leone dipped by 6.6% year-on-year.
Overall, the continent’s economy expanded by 3.8 per cent to $2.7 trillion from $2.5 trillion recorded in the previous year, despite different headwinds.