It’s beginning to sound like a broken record, but the Africa rising mantra increasingly rings true.
While there may be debate about the nature of the economic development and whether it’s structurally transformational, what is clear, however, is that there is new wealth being created across the continent.
Since 2000, the number of people in Africa with assets worth $1 million or more has grown by 145%, according to data by the research firm New World Wealth. This is twice the global average over the same time. And within the next decade, the figure is expected to grow another 45%.
Mauritius, the island off the coast of east Africa, boasts the highest wealth per capita of any country on the continent at $21,470. However, it is important to note that this is way below the global average of $26,000, something that will bolster critics of the “Africa Rising” narrative. Over the past 14 years, wealth per capita has increased by 133% in Africa compared to the global average of 63%. Angola has seen the highest jump in the region with 532% growth.
Zimbabwe, once one of the wealthiest countries on the continent ahead of the likes of Kenya and Nigeria, has experienced the lowest growth per capita, with the “erosion of property rights” being blamed for such a slide. “Business owners are unsure as to whether their businesses will still belong to them a year down the line, which creates a situation where no one will take the chance of investing or building businesses in the country,” the report argues.
When it comes to where Africa’s wealthiest individuals are, South Africa, perhaps predictably, leads the way.
Nevertheless, the picture looks slightly different when the number of millionaires is examined in the context of each country’s population.
Meanwhile, Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial capital, possesses the highest concentration of millionaires on the continent, with Lagos a distant second.
source:Quartz Africa
