Published: November 7, 2026
Key Facts
- Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye earns $3,942 a month, or 2,433 times Burundi's $1.62 monthly minimum wage. That single gap is bigger than the other nine gaps in this top 10 added together (2,313 times).
- The top three gaps, Burundi, Cameroon and Uganda, add up to 3,724 times the minimum wage. That is 3.6 times the other seven in the top 10 combined.
- The average gap across the top 10 is 475 times the minimum wage.
- The biggest economies miss the top 10. Nigeria's president earns 16.7 times the minimum wage. South Africa's earns 55.4 times. Egypt's earns 6.0 times.
- Four of the top 10 gaps rest on thin or symbolic minimum wages. Burundi's floor dates to 1988. Uganda's dates to 1984. Gambia and Comoros have no statutory national rate at all. The gaps are real, but the denominators are not normal wages.
The Ranking
We calculated a gap for 33 African countries. The table below shows the 10 widest gaps. Every figure is gross monthly pay in US dollars, divided by the monthly minimum wage in US dollars. Exchange rates are October 12, 2026 mid-market rates.
| Rank | Country | President | President's pay per month | Minimum wage per month | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burundi | Evariste Ndayishimiye | $3,942 | $1.62 | 2,433.1x |
| 2 | Cameroon | Paul Biya | $51,748 | $74.88 | 691.1x |
| 3 | Uganda | Yoweri Museveni | $900 | $1.50 | 600.0x |
| 4 | Gambia | Adama Barrow | $6,705 | $20.41 | 328.5x |
| 5 | Mauritania | Mohamed Ould Ghazouani | $17,413 | $111.94 | 155.6x |
| 6 | Comoros | Azali Assoumani | $9,755 | $68.12 | 143.2x |
| 7 | Ghana | John Mahama | $6,619 | $56.29 | 117.6x |
| 8 | Morocco | King Mohammed VI | $40,717 | $352.49 | 115.5x |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | Emmerson Mnangagwa | $12,208 | $150.00 | 81.4x |
| 10 | Kenya | William Ruto | $11,131 | $139.15 | 80.0x |
Notes: Burundi, Uganda, Gambia and Comoros use thin or symbolic minimum wages, as explained in Selected Details. Morocco's head of state is a king, included because his pay is published. Pay is gross monthly salary before tax, excluding allowances, housing, transport, security and medical cover, except where the only published figure is a stated total.
The 10 leaders in this table earn, on average, 475 times the monthly minimum wage in their countries. The lowest gap we could calculate anywhere in Africa is Seychelles, where the president earns about 4 times the minimum wage.
Selected Details
1. Burundi: Evariste Ndayishimiye, 2,433 times
Ndayishimiye earns $47,300 a year, or $3,942 a month. That is 2,433 times the $1.62 monthly minimum wage. One month of his pay equals 203 years at the minimum wage. The pay figure comes from Kenyan outlet Tuko and two salary lists that agree with it. One list, Skabash, says his salary is unknown, so treat the figure as reported rather than official. The minimum wage is the real story. It was set by a 1988 order and has never been revised. It is symbolic, not a wage anyone lives on.
2. Cameroon: Paul Biya, 691 times
Biya earns $620,976 a year, or $51,748 a month. That is 691 times the $74.88 monthly minimum wage. One month of his pay equals 58 years at the minimum wage. Cameroon publishes no official presidential salary. The figure is a press compilation, reported by The Exchange Africa in February 2026 and repeated by Pulse Ghana and Tuko. An older Africa Review figure put him at $610,000 a year. Biya is Africa's longest serving president, in office since 1982.
3. Uganda: Yoweri Museveni, 600 times
Museveni earns 3.6 million Ugandan shillings a month, or $900. That is 600 times the 6,000 shilling monthly minimum wage, worth $1.50. Museveni has stated the 3.6 million figure himself, and WageIndicator lists the same annual total. The minimum wage has not changed since January 1, 1984. It is symbolic. No Ugandan worker is legally paid 6,000 shillings a month in practice, but no higher national floor exists.
4. Gambia: Adama Barrow, 328.5 times
Barrow earns at least 500,000 dalasis a month, or $6,705. That is 328.5 times the 1,522 dalasi monthly benchmark, worth $20.41. The figure comes from opposition leaders, not the government. Essa Faal cited it in December 2025. Ousainou Darboe repeated it in August 2026, saying Barrow earns no less than half a million dalasis a month, up from about 270,000 under Yahya Jammeh. The government has published no figure. Gambia has no national minimum wage. The 1,522 dalasi benchmark comes from a 2015 joint industrial council rate.
5. Mauritania: Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, 155.6 times
Ghazouani earns 700,000 new ouguiya a month, or $17,413. That is 155.6 times the 4,500 ouguiya monthly minimum wage, worth $111.94. The salary figure comes from a former minister's notebooks, published by 28 Novembre. It is 7 million old ouguiya a month. Mauritania redenominated its currency in 2018, so 7 million old ouguiya became 700,000 new ouguiya. A Mauritanian economics journal confirms the same figure at $18,200 a month. No revised pay decree has been found. One salary list puts him higher, at $300,000 a year, which would give a gap of 223 times.
6. Comoros: Azali Assoumani, 143.2 times
Assoumani earns $117,060 a year, or $9,755 a month. That is 143.2 times the 30,000 Comorian franc monthly benchmark, worth $68.12. Three salary lists agree on the $115,000 to $117,060 range. Comoros has no statutory minimum wage. The 30,000 franc figure is a historical benchmark, not a law. A 2016 report put the president's base pay higher, at 6.5 million francs a month, which would give a gap near 217 times. We use the lower, better attested figure.
7. Ghana: John Mahama, 117.6 times
Mahama earns 934,800 cedis a year, or 77,900 cedis a month, worth $6,619. That is 117.6 times the 662 cedi monthly minimum wage, worth $56.29. The figure comes from a GhanaWeb salary report and a salary list that both give about $76,000 a year. One news site misread the same figure as monthly pay, which would imply about $953,000 a year. We follow the source report, which states the figure as annual. An older 2020 committee recommended 47,277 cedis a month, which would give a gap of 71 times. Mahama said in April 2025 that he had not been paid four months into his term. He donated six months of his salary to the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.
8. Morocco: King Mohammed VI, 115.5 times
Mohammed VI earns $488,604 a year, or $40,717 a month. That is 115.5 times the 3,423 dirham monthly minimum wage, worth $352.49. He is a king, not a president. We include him because he is the head of state and his pay is published. The figure is reported by The Exchange Africa and Tuko, with one outlet giving a lower $450,000. His palace operating budget, reported at $960,000 a day by Forbes, is separate. We do not count it as salary. Morocco has the highest minimum wage in this top 10, which holds the gap down.
9. Zimbabwe: Emmerson Mnangagwa, 81.4 times
Mnangagwa earns $146,500 a year, or $12,208 a month. That is 81.4 times the $150 monthly minimum wage. The figure is reported by The Exchange and Daily Nation, with two salary lists giving $144,193 and $149,590. The cluster is tight, so the figure is unusually solid for this ranking. Zimbabwe's $150 monthly minimum wage is the figure in our minimum wage ranking, published October 13, 2026.
10. Kenya: William Ruto, 80 times
Ruto earns 1,443,750 Kenyan shillings a month gross, or $11,131. That is 80 times the 18,048 shilling monthly minimum wage, worth $139.15. The pay is set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission gazette of August 2023. It is basic pay of 866,250 shillings plus a housing allowance of 350,000 and a market adjustment of 227,500. A proposed rise to 1,650,000 shillings a month was never put into effect. We use the gazetted figure. Kenya takes the last spot in the top 10 by a hair. The Central African Republic sits just behind at 79.6 times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did you calculate the gap?
We took each president's gross monthly pay in US dollars and divided it by the monthly minimum wage in US dollars in the same country. Both figures use October 12, 2026 mid-market exchange rates, so the comparison is like for like.
Why is Burundi's gap so large?
The gap is driven by the denominator, not the numerator. Burundi's president earns $3,942 a month, which is modest by African standards. But the minimum wage is $1.62 a month, set in 1988 and never revised. Divide a normal salary by a near-zero floor and the multiple explodes.
Which big countries miss the top 10?
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt. Nigeria's president earns 16.7 times the minimum wage. South Africa's earns 55.4 times. Egypt's earns 6.0 times. Their presidents earn more in dollars than most leaders in this top 10, but their minimum wages are far higher, so the gaps are smaller.
Why is Morocco's king in a ranking of presidents?
He is the head of state, and his pay is published. We include him and flag the fact clearly. We count only his salary, not the palace operating budget. Remove him and the Central African Republic enters the top 10 instead, at 79.6 times.
Why are some countries missing from this ranking?
Because no presidential salary is published. Togo, Mali, Guinea, Benin, Niger and Madagascar all keep the figure secret or unpublished. We list every exclusion in the Methodology below. We would rather leave a country out than guess its president's pay.
Data Sources
- African Exponent, Minimum Wage by African Country in 2026 (October 13, 2026). Source of every minimum wage figure in this ranking.
- InvestingPort, Monthly and Annual Salaries of African Presidents. Compiled salary list used as a cross-check.
- Skabash, African Presidents' Salaries (via Business Insider and mywage.ng). Compiled salary list used as a cross-check.
- Club of Mozambique, Minimum Wage in Public Administration Almost Doubles (July 14, 2022). TSU announcement with the president's total pay.
- Club of Mozambique, Minimum Wage Double for Civil Service, Top Wages Now Public, by Joseph Hanlon (July 25, 2022). TSU table reconstruction.
- 28 Novembre, Figures on Corruption in Mauritania (Arabic, archive). Former minister's notebooks with the president's 7 million ouguiya salary.
- Ecorim, The Danger of Corruption in Mauritania (Arabic). Confirms 7 million old ouguiya a month at $18,200.
- Yen.com.gh, President Mahama Donates Six Months' Salary to the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (April 30, 2025).
- Lite Daily Advent, Salaries and Benefits of Ghana's President and Vice President. GhanaWeb salary report summary.
- Centrafrique Le Defi, Salaries and Allowances for Senior State Posts (PDF, March 2017). Official CAR salary grid.
- 24 Heures BF, New Pay for Senior Figures in Burkina Faso (December 2022). Presidential pay decree.
- Exchange-Rates.org, Botswana Pula to US Dollar History. October 12, 2026 rate: 1 pula = 0.07266 dollars.
- WageIndicator, Salary of African Politicians. VIP salary pages used as a cross-check.
- Additional figures come from Tuko, The Exchange Africa, Pulse Ghana, the Daily Nation, BusinessTech, Mmegi, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission gazette of August 2023, and the presidency asset declarations cited in each section.
Methodology
What we measured. For each country we divided the head of state's gross monthly pay in US dollars by the national monthly minimum wage in US dollars. The result is the gap, shown as a multiple. A gap of 100 times means the president earns in one month what a minimum wage worker earns in 100 months.
As-of dates. Minimum wages come from our ranking published October 13, 2026, converted at October 12, 2026 mid-market rates. Presidential pay figures are the latest published figures we could verify, dated between 2022 and 2026. Each section states its source and date. Where a figure is old, we say so.
Definitions. Pay means gross monthly base salary before tax. It excludes allowances, housing, transport, security and medical cover, except where the only published figure is a stated total, which we note. Minimum wage means the national statutory monthly floor in our October 13 ranking. Where no statutory rate exists, we use the benchmark that ranking uses and flag it as thin. Where a leader declines the salary, as in Zambia and Burkina Faso, we rank the office's official rate and note the decline.
What we did not count. Palace operating budgets, opaque funds, special funds, and allowances outside the published salary are not counted. Morocco's palace budget and Ali Bongo's reported funds in Gabon are examples. Counting them would make the gaps larger, but the figures are not salaries and cannot be verified.
Conflicts we resolved. Ghana: one news site read the 934,800 cedi figure as monthly pay; the source report and a second list give it as annual, about $76,000 a year, so we used the annual figure. Mozambique: the July 2022 TSU announcement gave a 462,000 metical monthly total, while a journalist's reconstruction gave $9,347 a month. The TSU was then suspended and revised, and the basic was cut 20 percent in January 2023. We used the officially announced total and note the range. Mauritania: the 7 million figure is in old ouguiya, equal to 700,000 new ouguiya after the 2018 redenomination; one list gives $300,000 a year, which would give 223 times. Central African Republic: the 2017 official grid gives 2,785,132 francs a month gross, while one list gives $42,524 a year, which approximates the grid's net at an older rate; we used the grid gross. Cote d'Ivoire: one outlet claims 10 to 15 million francs a month, but the Jeune Afrique figure of about 4.8 million is corroborated by three lists at $100,000 a year, so we used 4,875,000. Kenya: a proposed 1,650,000 shilling monthly figure was never put into effect, so we used the gazetted 1,443,750. South Africa: a $223,800 figure in circulation is stale; the 2025/26 salary is 3,484,911 rand a year. Algeria: $166,814 and $168,000 figures are a stale exchange rate artifact; the current gross is 800,000 dinars a month. Nigeria: a 49.9 million naira annual figure on blogs has no official basis and contradicts the revenue commission chairman, so we used the commission's 14,058,820 naira a year.
Near misses. Just outside the top 10: Central African Republic 79.6 times, Senegal 75.7 times, Congo 75.3 times, Mozambique 65.3 times and Cote d'Ivoire 65.0 times. Further back sit DR Congo at 17.7 to 63.8 times depending on the source, Burkina Faso at 55.6 times on the office rate, South Africa at 55.4 times, Botswana at 52.1 times, Tanzania at 51.4 times and Gabon at 50.0 times on the office grid.
Excluded. Togo: only an estimate range of 5 to 7 million francs a month exists, and the midpoint would give about 171 times, so this is a material gap in the ranking. Mali, Guinea, Benin, Niger, Chad and Equatorial Guinea publish no presidential salary. Madagascar's president was deposed in a coup on October 14, 2025, and the new ruler's pay is unknown. Eritrea's pay is unknown. Sudan cannot be ranked. Libya has no president. Ethiopia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mauritius, Cabo Verde and Sao Tome have ceremonial presidents or prime ministers who govern, so a presidential pay comparison does not fit. Djibouti, Rwanda, Somalia and South Sudan have no statutory national minimum wage.
