Gross Domestic Product by Land Area in Africa

The chart above shows economic output as it relates to land area.  The countries to the top left of the diagonal line have a gross domestic product (GDP) of over one million international dollars per square kilometer, while countries to the bottom right have a GDP that is less than one million dollars per square kilometer.  Mauritius, Seychelles, and Nigeria have the largest ratio of GDP to area whereas the Central African Republic, Mauritania, and Niger have the smallest ratio of GDP to area.

Findings

• Africa has only five countries that make over 1 million international dollars per square kilometer.
• The Central African Republic has the smallest ratio of GDP to area with an economy of just over 5,000 times that of its area in square kilometers.
• Mauritius has the largest ratio of GDP to area with an economy of just over 10 million times that of its area in square kilometers.
• Only Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Nigeria, Seychelles, and Mauritius have a GDP that is over one million international dollars per square kilometer.

Caveats

• A country with a large landmass and a small population is likely to have a smaller ratio, whereas a small country with a large population density can have a larger ratio.  Thus the data may not reflect how productive a country is.
• Cape Verde, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Mayotte, Réunion, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, South Sudan, Western Sahara, and Zimbabwe were missing data.

Details

The only north African country to make less than 100,000 international dollars per square kilometer is Libya. 

The six countries with the lowest GDP per square kilometer all hail from west or central Africa.

Data

Code	Country	Area (square km)	GDP (in millions)	GDP Per Square Kilometer
CF	Central African Republic	622,984	3,411	5,475.26
MR	Mauritania	1,030,700	17,421	16,902.11
NE	Niger	1,267,000	21,655	17,091.55
TD	Chad	1,284,000	29,730	23,154.21
CD	Democratic Republic of the Congo	2,344,858	68,331	29,140.78
ML	Mali	1,240,192	40,974	33,038.43
NA	Namibia	824,292	27,451	33,302.52
LR	Liberia	111,369	3,960	35,557.47
MZ	Mozambique	799,380	37,321	46,687.43
LY	Libya	1,759,540	87,067	49,482.82
BW	Botswana	581,730	38,500	66,181.91
MG	Madagascar	587,041	40,500	68,990.07
GN	Guinea	245,857	17,056	69,373.66
ER	Eritrea	117,600	9,678	82,295.92
GW	Guinea-Bissau	36,125	3,089	85,508.65
ZM	Zambia	752,618	68,648	91,212.28
SD	Sudan	1,861,484	186,715	100,304.38
BF	Burkina Faso	274,200	35,000	127,644.06
GA	Gabon	267,667	38,000	141,967.44
AO	Angola	1,246,700	193,935	155,558.67
DJ	Djibouti	22,980	3,658	159,181.90
SL	Sierra Leone	71,740	11,551	161,011.99
CM	Cameroon	475,440	81,535	171,493.77
TZ	Tanzania	947,300	163,522	172,619.02
ET	Ethiopia	1,104,300	194,980	176,564.34
MW	Malawi	118,484	22,577	190,548.93
TG	Togo	56,785	12,494	220,022.89
SN	Senegal	196,722	43,326	220,239.73
BJ	Benin	112,622	25,407	225,595.35
LS	Lesotho	30,355	7,287	240,059.30
DZ	Algeria	2,381,741	634,746	266,505.05
KE	Kenya	580,367	164,340	283,165.65
BI	Burundi	27,830	8,024	288,321.95
UG	Uganda	241,038	91,212	378,413.36
GH	Ghana	238,553	131,498	551,231.80
KM	Comoros	2,235	1,329	594,630.87
ZA	South Africa	1,219,090	761,926	624,995.69
SZ	Swaziland	17,364	11,352	653,766.41
MA	Morocco	446,550	300,556	673,062.37
TN	Tunisia	163,610	136,797	836,116.37
RW	Rwanda	26,338	24,717	938,453.94
GQ	Equatorial Guinea	28,051	30,807	1,098,249.62
EG	Egypt	1,001,450	1,197,967	1,196,232.46
NG	Nigeria	923,768	1,124,627	1,217,434.46
SC	Seychelles	455	2,761	6,068,131.87
MU	Mauritius	2,586	27,507	10,636,890.95

Sources

"Report for Selected Countries and Subjects."  https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2017/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=43&pr.y=19&sy=2017&ey=2017&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C672%2C914%2C946%2C612%2C137%2C614%2C546%2C311%2C962%2C213%2C674%2C911%2C676%2C193%2C548%2C122%2C556%2C912%2C678%2C313%2C181%2C419%2C867%2C513%2C682%2C316%2C684%2C913%2C273%2C124%2C868%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C624%2C692%2C522%2C694%2C622%2C142%2C156%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C565%2C228%2C283%2C924%2C853%2C233%2C288%2C632%2C293%2C636%2C566%2C634%2C964%2C238%2C182%2C662%2C359%2C960%2C453%2C423%2C968%2C935%2C922%2C128%2C714%2C611%2C862%2C321%2C135%2C243%2C716%2C248%2C456%2C469%2C722%2C253%2C942%2C642%2C718%2C643%2C724%2C939%2C576%2C644%2C936%2C819%2C961%2C172%2C813%2C132%2C199%2C646%2C733%2C648%2C184%2C915%2C524%2C134%2C361%2C652%2C362%2C174%2C364%2C328%2C732%2C258%2C366%2C656%2C734%2C654%2C144%2C336%2C146%2C263%2C463%2C268%2C528%2C532%2C923%2C944%2C738%2C176%2C578%2C534%2C537%2C536%2C742%2C429%2C866%2C433%2C369%2C178%2C744%2C436%2C186%2C136%2C925%2C343%2C869%2C158%2C746%2C439%2C926%2C916%2C466%2C664%2C112%2C826%2C111%2C542%2C298%2C967%2C927%2C443%2C846%2C917%2C299%2C544%2C582%2C941%2C474%2C446%2C754%2C666%2C698%2C668&s=PPPGDP&grp=0&a=.  International Monetary Fund.

US Department of State.  2017.  "The World Factbook."  Accessed September 21, 2017.  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2147.html.