Nigeria slides to fourth spot on 10 African Countries by GDP 2024 list

Nigeria has plunged to the fourth position on the list of top African countries by gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of the monetary value of all finished goods and services produced in the countries at a particular period.

Afreximbank Research, the research and data unit of Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank, highlighted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s ranking of Africa’s top countries by GDP for 2024.

Nigeria, which until 2023 was the continent’s biggest, fell to the fourth position after two sharp devaluations of its currency shrank its GDP by more than half, causing the naira to lose roughly 70 per cent of its value against the dollar.

The country’s rebased GDP data is in the works at the National Bureau of Statistics, and it’s expected to capture emerging promising sectors such as marine economy, arts, culture and tourism, ICT, e-commerce and mining.

South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, took the lead at $400.2 billion, with Egypt in tow at $383.1 billion.

Algeria came third at $264.9 billion, affirming the blossoming hydrocarbon wealth and investment of the North African country.

Nigeria’s slide to the fourth position “underscores the deep macroeconomic imbalances and FX challenges Nigeria faces despite its vast population and resource base,” Afreximbank Research said.

Morocco took the fifth place, deriving strength from the diversification of its economy and the stability of its macroeconomy. East Africa powerhouses Ethiopia and Kenya occupied the sixth and seventh positions, achieving the feat on the back of prioritisation of expansion and service growth by the governments.

Oil-rich Angola took the eight spot, while big cocoa producers Cote Divoire and Ghana completed the top ten, driven by their increasing significance in regional trade as well as their agro-industrial strength.

Meanwhile, Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP is expected to expand by 3.8 per cent in nominal terms this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook for 2025, issued this week, set the projected economic growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa this year lower than for 2024, when the forecast was 4 per cent.

Nigeria and South Africa, two of Africa’s most prominent economies, have been projected to see weaker GDP growth rate in 2025 on account of various economic headwinds they are likely to face.

“The growth forecast in Nigeria is revised downward by 0.2 percentage point for 2025 and 0.3 percentage point for 2026, owing to lower oil prices,” the IMF said.

“That in South Africa is revised downward by 0.5 percentage point for 2025 and 0.3 percentage point for 2026, reflecting slowing momentum from a weaker-than-expected 2024 outturn, deteriorating sentiment due to heightened uncertainty, the intensification of protectionist policies, and a deeper slowdown in major economies,” it added.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s

is expected to expand by 3.8 per cent in nominal terms this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook for 2025, issued this week, set the projected economic growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa this year lower than for 2024, when the forecast was 4 per cent.

Nigeria and South Africa, two of Africa’s most prominent economies, have been projected to see weaker GDP growth rate in 2025 on account of various economic headwinds they are likely to face.

“The growth forecast in Nigeria is revised downward by 0.2 percentage point for 2025 and 0.3 percentage point for 2026, owing to lower oil prices,” the IMF said.

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“That in South Africa is revised downward by 0.5 percentage point for 2025 and 0.3 percentage point for 2026, reflecting slowing momentum from a weaker-than-expected 2024 outturn, deteriorating sentiment due to heightened uncertainty, the intensification of protectionist policies, and a deeper slowdown in major economies,” it added.s

Morocco took the fifth place, deriving strength from the diversification of its economy and the stability of its macroeconomy. East Africa powerhouses Ethiopia and Kenya occupied the sixth and seventh positions, achieving the feat on the back of prioritisation of expansion and service growth by the governments.

Oil-rich Angola took the eight spot, while big cocoa producers Cote Divoire and Ghana completed the top ten, driven by their increasing significance in regional trade as well as their agro-industrial strength.