Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has over four years of financial, business, and technology research and reporting experience, providing insights into Kenyan and global trends.

The global economy has faced multiple shocks and uncertainties largely due to US tariffs in 2025.

Consequently, the African Development Bank (AfDB) revised Africa's growth outlook relative to the forecast in the February 2025 Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook (MEO) report.

In the May 2025 report, AfDB downgraded Africa's economic growth forecast by 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points to 3.9% and 4.0% in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, Daniel Kathali, an economist, explained that although not perfect, the best metrics used to rank economies are the Gross National Income (GNI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He explained that although they are closely related and often used together in economic analysis, GNI per capita is not the same as GDP per capita.

"GDP per capita measures the total value of goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a given year, divided by the population, capturing the scale of domestic economic activity regardless of who owns the production assets. For instance, if a foreign company runs a factory in Kenya, the output from that factory is included in Kenya’s GDP.

On the other hand, GNI per capita reflects the total income earned by a country's residents and businesses, regardless of whether that income is generated domestically or abroad, also divided by the population. This includes remittances from citizens working overseas and earnings from foreign investments, but it excludes income earned domestically by foreigners," Kathali explained.

Based on economic data from 2024, Sao Tome and Principe had the smallest GDP in Africa, with an estimated value of approximately $0.6 billion USD. Comoros followed closely, with an estimated GDP of around $1.35 billion USD.

These figures highlight the economic challenges faced by small nations, often due to limited resources; however, these countries have low population sizes. This explains why the smallest countries often have higher GDP per capita when the GDP is divided equally among their population.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, the total African GDP amounted to $2.8 trillion, averaging at approximately $53 billion per nation. South Africa was the best country in Africa in terms of Gross Domestic Product, current prices.

Below is a list of the countries with the lowest GDP per capita:

In the Gender, Poverty and Environmental Indicators on African Countries report in 2024, AfDB noted that 24 countries were ranked as low-income economies in 2022, defined as having a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita of $1,135 or less (about KSh 146,000 or less).

Among the countries listed are Burkina Faso, Burundi, and the Central African Republic, which are often characterised by ongoing political instability and limited access to global markets.

The list also included Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Eritrea—nations grappling with conflict and infrastructure deficits.

East African countries, such as Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Rwanda, and Uganda, are also among low-income economies based on their GNI per capita.

Other low-income nations noted in the report include The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

These countries typically share common socio-economic challenges such as high poverty rates, limited industrialisation, reliance on agriculture, and constrained fiscal capacity.

Source: TUKO.co.ke