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2005 ICP Regional Summary: Sub-Saharan Africa
Overview
Forty-eight countries participated in the Africa regional ICP coordinated by the African
Development Bank. Forty-five countries were from Sub-Saharan Africa along with
Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. The program was beneficial not only in terms of providing
PPPs but also in improving the national accounts data. Country statistical offices
benefited from training and information sharing in a number of workshops held
throughout the program and a regional plan to extend these efforts in improving statistics
are currently being planned.
All regional values shown below include only the countries that participated in the 2005
International Comparison Program.
Size of the economy
PPP-based GDP figures indicate that SSA accounts for 2.4 percent of the world economy
as opposed to 1.5 percent based on GDP converted to US dollars using market exchange
rates. South Africa and Nigeria are the largest economies and make up nearly half of SubSaharan Africa’s GDP and about one-fourth of the population. South Africa’s GDP is
smaller than previously estimated by $127 billion, or 24 percent. For many countries, the
new measures of PPP-based GDP are quite different from previous estimates. Thirteen
countries’ PPP-based GDPs were revised up and thirty-three revised down. The revisions
range from a 139 percent increase in the GDP of the Republic of Congo to a 77 percent
decrease for Zimbabwe. It should be noted that 24 African countries participated in the
ICP for the first time. Previous estimates of PPPs for these countries were based on less
reliable modeling methods.
Largest upward revisions
2005 PPP GDP ($ billions)
ICP
Previous
'05
estimate
Congo, Rep.
12.0
5.0
Gabon
17.8
9.1
Nigeria
247.3
154.8
Angola
55.0
37.2
Equatorial Guinea
12.2
8.7
Diff.
139%
96%
60%
48%
40%
Largest downward revisions
2005 PPP GDP ($ billions)
ICP
Previous
'05
estimate
Zimbabwe
6.2
26.9
Gambia, The
1.1
2.9
Congo, Dem. Rep.
15.7
41.2
Guinea
8.8
21.2
Lesotho
2.6
6.1
Diff.
-77%
-64%
-62%
-59%
-57%
Living Standards
There are five countries with GDP per capita above $5,000, seven countries with GDP
per capita between $5,000 and $2,000, and thirty-four countries with GDP per capita
below $2000, and half of those countries are below $1,000.
GDP per capita (World=100%)
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
East Asia
and Pacific
Europe and High-income
Latin
Middle-East
Central Asia
America and and North
Caribbean
Africa
Distribution of GDP per capita
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Countries with highest GDP per capita
Gabon
Botswana
Equatorial Guinea
Mauritius
South Africa
GDP per capita
12,742
12,057
11,999
10,155
8,477
Countries with the lowest GDP per capita
Congo, Dem. Rep.
Liberia
Burundi
Zimbabwe
Guinea-Bissau
GDP per capita
264
383
410
538
569
South Asia
SubSaharan
Africa
Actual Individual Consumption
Actual individual consumption is measured by the total value of household final
consumption expenditure, expenditures by non-profit institutions (such as NGOs and
charities) serving households, and government expenditure on individual consumption
goods and services (such as education or health). Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with
the lowest actual individual consumption per capita at about one-fifth of the world
average. Consumption per capita is below the regional average for more than threefourths of the countries.
Actual Individual Consumption per capita (World=100%)
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
East Asia
and Pacif ic
Europe and
Central Asia
High-income
Latin
America and
Caribbean
Middle-East
and North
Af rica
South Asia
SubSaharan
Af rica
Actual Individual Consumption per capita
140.0%
120.0%
100.0%
80.0%
60.0%
40.0%
20.0%
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PPP-based measures of collective government consumption
Collective government consumption expenditures consist of expenditures incurred by
general and local governments for collective consumption services such as defense,
justice, general administration, and the protection of the environment. Lower prices for
such services in developing countries tend to reduce the dispersion of collective
government consumption per capita across regions compared to that observed for per
capita GDPs.
Collective Government Consumption per capita (World=100%)
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
East Asia
and Pacif ic
Europe and
Central Asia
High-income
Latin
America and
Caribbean
Middle-East
and North
Af rica
South Asia
SubSaharan
Af rica
Collective Government Consumption per capita
400.0%
350.0%
300.0%
250.0%
200.0%
150.0%
100.0%
50.0%
C
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0.0%
PPP-based measures of gross fixed capital formation
Gross fixed capital formation measures countries’ investment expenditures, which are
mostly comprised of purchases of equipment and construction services. Compared with
the regional dispersion of GDP per capita, investment expenditures per capita appear to
be less unequally distributed across regions. In particular, differences between the AsiaPacific, CIS, South America, and West Asia regions narrow. Differences between these
regions and the OECD/Eurostat grouping also narrows in comparison with differences in
GDPs per capita. On the other hand, Africa lags far behind, reflecting low investment
efforts from nationals and foreign investors, and high investment prices. Some countries
have higher investment rates such as Gabon, Botswana, and Equatorial Guinea.
GFCF per capita (World=100%)
400%
300%
200%
100%
0%
East Asia
and Pacific
Europe and High-income
Latin
Middle-East
Central Asia
America and and North
Caribbean
Africa
South Asia
SubSaharan
Africa
Gross Fixed Capital Formation
140.0%
120.0%
100.0%
80.0%
60.0%
40.0%
20.0%
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Price level indexes
A price level index (PLI) is the ratio of a PPP to the market exchange rate of the
numeraire currency. PLIs are used to compare price levels between countries. The PLI
indicates the relative price of GDP (or its components) in a country, as if it were
“purchased” after acquiring local currency at the prevailing exchange rate. PLIs are
generally low in poorest countries. This reflects the common experience of travelers who
find many (but not all) of the goods and services in the poorest countries relatively cheap
compared to similar products in their home country.
Price levels generally increase with GDP per capita. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe,
Cape Verde, Namibia, and South Africa have the highest prices and Ethiopia, The
Gambia, and Burundi the lowest. Zimbabwe is a noticeable outlier. Its price level index
may be affected by high inflation and the disparity between its official exchange rate and
the rate at which international transactions actually take place.
GDP Price Level Indexes, World = 100
100%
Cape Verde
Zimbabwe
(180%)
90%
Namibia
80%
South Africa
70%
60%
50%
40%
Burundi
The Gambia
30%
Ethiopia
20%
GDP per capita