Currencies, capital markets, and the prices that move African economies.
Chart of the Day: Sending $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa costs 8.46% on average, $16.92 of every $200. It is the highest price of any region in the world, on the World Bank's latest figures.
Johannesburg still leads Africa with 11,700 resident dollar millionaires in June 2025, but six South African cities take 33,200 of the top 10 total of 50,700, while Lagos, West Africa's richest city, sits only seventh with 3,600.
Egypt received $41.5 billion in 2025, more than ranks 3 to 10 combined, as Africa's diaspora sent home $124 billion. Here are the 10 countries that received the most diaspora remittances, ranked on the latest available figures for each country.
The eight East African Community economies together are worth $490.9bn in 2026, IMF projections show, $104.3bn more than Nigeria and just ahead of South Africa. But per person, Nigeria is still richer.
Fourteen countries, two currencies, one peg to the euro: Côte d'Ivoire alone is worth more than the seven smallest CFA economies combined. Here is every member ranked by GDP, from $110.4 billion down to $2.9 billion.
From a 99.2% wipeout in Zimbabwe to a 50% overnight reset across the CFA zone, these are the sharpest single currency devaluations Africa has seen, measured on one consistent basis.
Libya holds $87.9 billion in foreign exchange reserves, more than any other African country. The top ten hold $414.1 billion combined, about four-fifths of the continent's total. This ranking uses end-2025 figures from Afreximbank's African Trade Report 2026.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is worth about 12 times its nearest African rival, and one exchange serves eight countries. The 2026 market-cap ranking, with figures, vintages and dollar conversions dated.
Abidjan tops our 2026 ranking of Africa's most expensive cities, ahead of Addis Ababa and four South African cities. See the full top ten, with Numbeo cost-of-living data.
South Africa leads Africa's 2026 GDP ranking at $489.1 billion. Every African country ranked by nominal GDP, from São Tomé and Príncipe's $1.1 billion to the continent's $3.63 trillion total, with IMF data.
Guinea has Africa's weakest currency in 2026: it takes 8,797 Guinean francs to buy one US dollar, per October 2026 exchange rates.
Malawi has Africa's highest petrol price in 2026 at $3.24 per litre — about 57% above second-placed Zimbabwe, according to GlobalPetrolPrices. Figures are octane-95 gasoline in USD per litre, dated September 28, 2026.
Sudan has Africa's highest inflation rate in 2026 at a projected 75.1%, according to the IMF's April 2026 World Economic Outlook.
Zimbabwe has Africa's highest central bank interest rate at 30%, ahead of Malawi (24%) and Nigeria (23%), which slipped to third after the CBN's record 350 basis point cut.
Seychelles has Africa's highest GDP per capita at $17,675 in 2026, ahead of Mauritius ($13,812) and Gabon ($9,918), according to the IMF's April 2026 World Economic Outlook.
Tunisia has the strongest currency in Africa, with the dinar trading at 2.96 to the US dollar at the start of August 2026, followed by Libya (6.41) and Morocco (9.38), according to Forbes Advisor exchange rate data.
