The World Bank assigns the economies of the world into four classes on July 1st of every year by considering changes in the following factors: Economic growth, inflation, exchange rates and population growth. The four classes are Low-income economies; Lower middle economies, Upper middle economies; and High-income economies. The income calculations and reports are based on annual GDP per capita, that is, the total monetary value of goods and services produced in a country divided by the population of the country as of July 1st.
The income classification of world economies for the years 2020 and 2021 is indicated below.
| July 1, 2020 | July 1, 2021 |
||
| 1 | Low Income | < 1,035 | < 1,046 |
| 2 | Lower Middle Income | 1,035 - 4045 | 1,046 – 4,095 |
| 3 | Upper Middle Income | 4,046 – 12,535 | 4,096 – 12,659 |
| 4 | High Income | >12,535 | >12,695 |
Low Income African Countries: 2021
Low-income economies are those in which GDP per capita is less than the least GDP per capita value of Lower-Middle Income economies. African countries that were classified as Low-Income Economies in 2021, contained in the World Bank Country Classification Report of 2022, are the countries indicated in the box below:
|
1. Burkina Faso 2. Burundi 3. Central African Rep (CAR) 4. Chad 5. Demo. Republic of Congo 6. Eritrea 7. Ethiopia 8. Gambia |
9. Guinea 10. Guinea Bissau 11. Liberia 12. Madagascar 13. Malawi 14. Mali 15. Mozambique 16. Niger |
17. Rwanda 18. Sierra Leone 19. Somalia 20. Sudan 21. South Sudan 22. Togo 23. Uganda |
Lower-Middle Income African Countries: 2021
African countries classified as Lower-Middle Income economies in 2021, contained in the World Bank Country Classification Report of 2022, are indicated in the box below:
|
1. Benin 2. Cameroon 3. Cape Verde 4. Comoros 5. Congo Republic 6. Cote d’Ivoire 7. Djibouti |
8. Egypt 9. Equatorial Guinea 10. Eswatini 11. Ghana 12. Kenya 13. Lesotho 14. Mauritania |
15. Morocco 16. Nigeria 17. Sao Tome & Principe 18. Senegal 19. Tanzania 20. Zambia 21. Zimbabwe |
Upper-Middle Income African Countries: 2021
African countries classified as Upper-Middle Income economies in 2021 are indicated below:
|
1. Algeria 2. Angola 3. Botswana 4. Gabon 5. Libya |
6. Mauritius 7. Namibia 8. Seychelles 9. South Africa 10. Tunisia |
Seychelles had been in the Upper-Income category until 2020 when its economy started suffering from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic causing serious destruction to the country’s tourism industry.
It must also be noted that the lower-middle and the upper-middle income countries in all continents together constitute nearly 75 percent of the economies of the world.
High-Income Economies: 2021
The number of High-Income economies was 58 in 2021 to the World Bank classification report. Most of these economies include the USA and economies in Europe. The high-income economies represent nearly 30percent of world economies and are the highly productive countries of the world.
Conclusions
Upper-Middle Income African countries: Of the 54 African countries, 10 countries, representing 19 percent of African countries, are counted among the Upper Middle Income countries of the world.
Low income and Lower Middle Income African countries: The Lower income and Lower-Middle income African countries, numbering 44, represent 81% of the economies in Africa.
Poorest countries of the world: Of the 25 poorest countries of the world in 2021, fully 23 are in Africa. The first four and the last four of this number of African countries in this predicament, by their GDP per capita are Burundi, with a GDP per capita of US$263.67; South Sudan with a GDP per capita of US$303.15; Malawi, with a GDP per capita of 399.16; Mozambique, with GDP per capita of 455.01; concluding the list with the last four are Rwanda, with GDP per capita of US$823.40; Mali, with GDP per capita of US899.22; Uganda, with GDP per capita of US915.35; and Zimbabwe, with GDP per capita of US$921.85.
The range of GDP per capita of the poorest African countries in 2021 was, therefore, US$263.67 - US$921.85.
Africa currently has 43 percent of its 54 countries counted as the poorest on the African continent. The sad part of this situation is that Africa is already projected to become the poorest continent of the world by the end of 2030. This is an urgent and compelling reason for the continent to shake itself into renewed action in agricultural and industrial production. This action is directed at the low income and the middle-income countries comprising both the Lower-Middle and the Upper-Middle economies of the continent.
Nineteen percent of African countries have already made it into the Upper-Middle category of world economies indicating that there is more room at the top. More African countries, with the necessary dynamism and productive power, can make it into the Upper-Middle category within the next few years in readiness to move into the high-income category of nations. This is not impossible. Sixty years of independence is long enough. The youth cannot wait.
References
- https://worldbank.org/opendata/new-world-bank-country-classifications-income-level- 2021-2022
- https://www.aan.com >siteassets>join-aan>inernational
- https://blogs.worldbank.org >opendata>new-world-bank..
- https://www.investopedia.com >terms>middle-income-countries
- https://data.worldbank.org >country :
- https://yen.com.gh/ 111278-poorest-countries-world-2021.html
