IMF data show that Kenya rose from the sixth to the eighth richest country in Africa last year, despite the country's overall gross domestic product having improved from US$100 billion to US$117 billion over the same period.
According to the latest ranking, Angola now ranks sixth on the list of rich people in Africa, with a GDP of 135 billion.
Angola's emergence as a force in Africa is attributed to the high cost of fuel in the country, the continent's second-biggest oil producer.
The stability in Ethiopia, brought about by the truce in the internal war involving Tigray and government forces, has stabilized the economy of the country, the second most populous in Africa after Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Kenya's economy slowed in 2022, mainly due to the political season and election jitters that delayed investment.
Other factors, such as drought, increased food imports and the devaluation of the shilling against the dollar, negatively impacted Kenya's economy.
Though plagued by a lack of amenities such as electricity, road network and security, Nigeria remains the richest African country, closely followed by Egypt and South Africa.
Nigeria's economy is fueled by oil exports, an experienced human resource and talented athletes and artists who send millions of dollars home every year.
In turn, South Africa's economy has also slowed down and has yet to fully recover from the shocks of Covid-19, civil unrest and persistent lack of electricity.
Algeria and Morocco are fourth and fifth on the rich list, respectively. Tanzania and Côte d'Ivoire are ninth and tenth behind Kenya.
The ten richest African countries:
Nigeria – 574 billion dollars
Egypt – 471 billion
South Africa – 436 billion
Algeria – 190 billion
Morocco – 150 billion
Angola – 135 billion
Ethiopia – 126 billion
Kenya – 117 billion
Tanzania – 84 billion
Ivory Coast – 72 billion
