Top 10 Poorest Countries In Africa; How Do They Live And What Needs To Be Done?

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Top 10 Poorest Countries In Africa

• Most of the world's poorest people are concentrated in Africa. These people live in abject penury, many of them on less than a dollar per day.
• The top ten poorest African countries are in West Africa, Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Indian Ocean.
• There are two common characteristics similar to them all – man-made and natural disasters.

Poverty is something we all dread, which is why everyone tries hard to avoid it. But for some people, the odds are very much stacked against them such that it becomes almost impossible to escape poverty. Millions of such people are right here in Africa. And we need to talk about their situation to figure out a way forward.

According to World Population Review, Africa is the poorest continent on earth. How unfortunate is that! Perhaps, even more, unfortunate is the fact that all of these poorest countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa. These countries' misfortune is exacerbated by factors such as economic insecurity, political instability, civil wars, terrorist activities, corruption, and of course natural disasters.

Focus on the top 10 poorest countries in Africa

Before we proceed to talk about the top ten poorest countries in Africa, it's important to briefly talk about the metrics used in selecting them. Usually, two metrics are used to determine a country's wealth or lack thereof. These metrics are the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. While the first one measures the value of a country's total goods and services divided by the number of people living in the country, the second one goes a step further by including any foreign income a country may have received during a particular period under consideration.

Having established these facts, let us now discuss Africa's poorest countries, focusing on their GDP per capita and GNI per capita. Just for the record, this is not an interesting topic to discuss. But then again, it is a topic that needs to be discussed more often so that our leaders can feel the need to find a lasting solution to it.

1. Burundi: The Republic of Burundi is a landlocked country in East Africa that is bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Information verified by Business Insider Africa showed that Burundi is currently the poorest country not only in Africa but the entire world. Burundi has a GDP per capita of $771 and a GNI per capita of $270.
2. Somalia: Widely regarded as a failed state due to its lack of a central authority, the Republic of Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Some of the countries that share borders with Somalia are Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya. Not only has Somalia been conflict-ridden for years, but it has also battled economic challenges. The economy is so poor that it has a GDP per capita of $875 and a GNI per capita of $310.
3. Central African Republic: The CAR is a landlocked country in Central Africa and is surrounded by six countries including Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, DR Congo, the Republic of Congo, and Cameroon. The country has a GDP per capita of $980 and a GNI per capita of $510. This is quite abysmal for a country blessed with as much as natural resources as CAR. The country has also been plagued by man-made disasters due to a protracted war.
4. The Democratic Republic of the Congo: Right beside its equally poor neighbor is DRC. This country has all the natural resources that could make a country the wealthiest in the world. Yet, it is the fourth poorest country in Africa and one of the poorest in the world. The country has a GDP per capita of $1,131 and a GNI per capita of $550.
5. Niger: This is another landlocked African country in West Africa. Some of its neighbours are Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Chad, and Libya. Niger has a GDP per capita of $1,263 and a GNI per capita of $530. The country suffers from natural disasters such as drought and political instability, among other issues.
6. Mozambique: Insurgency has been a major problem in Mozambique recently, but that's not the only problem the Southern African country is dealing with. Although not landlocked, the country is bothered by six countries including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini (Swaziland), Malawi, and Tanzania. The country has a GDP per capita of $1,297 and a GNI per capita of $460.
7. Liberia: Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast are the three countries neighboring Liberia, a poor country in West Africa. The interesting thing about Liberia is that it is the oldest African republic and the very first to gain its independence. And after all these years, conflicts and poor leadership have resulted in the country having one of the poorest economies in the world. The country's GDP per capita is $1,428. It also has a GNI per capita of $530.
8. Malawi: This Southern African country has a GDP per capita of $1,568 and a GNI per capita of $580. Like most of the countries on this list, Malawi is landlocked, surrounded by Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique.
9. Madagascar: This is the only island African country on this list. The Republic of Madagascar is located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa. The country has a beautiful landscape, described as the most ecologically diverse place on earth. But it is also considered poor with a GDP per capita of $1,593 and a GNI per capita of $480.
10. Chad: This landlocked country in North Central Africa has a GDP per capita of $1,603 and a GNI per capita of $660. Desertification is a major problem in this country, but so also is political instability.

Immediate actions need to be taken to eradicate poverty in these countries

There is a similar trend common to all these countries – years of conflicts, political instability, corruption, and mismanagement of natural resources. These are man-made problems that could be solved. So, let's solve them to give people in these countries a chance at better living.

With regards to the other problem of natural disasters, solving the first set of problems would make it a lot easier to handle drought. After all, countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE have successfully transformed deserts into ever-green farmlands. They could only do that because they have working systems. Above all, let's fight climate change to cab natural disasters such as drought.