Data analysis
Africa's fastest-growing economies
African economies ranked by compound annual GDP growth over the last five years of data.
This ranking identifies the African economies that have achieved the highest compound annual GDP growth over the last five-year period of available data.
| 1 | São Tomé and PríncipeUS$413.0 million → US$822.2 million | 14.8% a year |
| 2 | GuineaUS$13.4 billion → US$25.0 billion | 13.2% a year |
| 3 | EritreaUS$1.2 billion → US$2.1 billion | 11.3% a year |
| 4 | EthiopiaUS$91.8 billion → US$149.7 billion | 10.3% a year |
| 5 | NigerUS$12.9 billion → US$19.9 billion | 9.0% a year |
| 6 | SudanUS$32.3 billion → US$49.7 billion | 9.0% a year |
| 7 | UgandaUS$35.4 billion → US$53.9 billion | 8.8% a year |
| 8 | TogoUS$7.0 billion → US$10.7 billion | 8.8% a year |
| 9 | Congo, Dem. Rep.US$46.8 billion → US$71.0 billion | 8.7% a year |
| 10 | BeninUS$14.4 billion → US$21.5 billion | 8.3% a year |
The list is led by the small island economy of São Tomé and Príncipe, which recorded annual growth of 14.8%, seeing its GDP expand from US$413.0 million in 2019 to US$822.2 million in 2024. Two other economies also posted double-digit growth: Guinea at 13.2% and Ethiopia at 10.3%. Eritrea is also listed with 11.3% growth, though its data covers an earlier period from 2006 to 2011.
Following the top performers, growth rates show a notable clustering. The economies ranked from fifth to tenth all fall within a narrow band between 9.0% and 8.3% annual growth. This highlights a significant gap between the top few economies and the other high-growth countries. The absolute scale of these economies also varies widely, from Ethiopia's US$149.7 billion GDP in 2024 to São Tomé and Príncipe's US$822.2 million, demonstrating that rapid percentage growth occurs in economies of very different sizes.
Computed by LeadAfrik from World Bank and IMF data, latest year 2024. Every figure above is calculated directly from the source series, not estimated. Explore the full datasets in our Data catalogue.
Free
Get the African economy brief
The numbers that actually move across African economies, in your inbox. Free, and you can leave any time.
No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
Go deeper on LeadAfrik
Put the numbers to work
Free LeadAfrik tools for your own money and business.