Johannesburg Stock Exchange (Photo via African-Markets.com)
South Africa is once again the second-biggest economy on the African continent as it reclaims the position from Egypt – and continues to narrow in on Nigeria.
According to the latest projections from the IMF, published by Bloomberg, South Africa has stepped past Egypt with a GDP of around $275 billion, versus the north African nation’s $270 billion.
Nigeria has seen its economy slump significantly since the devaluation of its currency, which saw the naira drop by 30 percent. Despite this, however, the country still maintains the biggest economy on the continent.
The gap between South Africa and Nigeria is narrowing, however, as the distance between the two nations now stands at only $60 billion, compared to the $170 billion gap at the end of 2015.
The data shows that Africa’s biggest economies have faced a tough 2016 so far, with all three leading markets down significantly from their position at the end of last year.
South Africa has lost in excess of $35 billion (from $313 billion at the end of 2015), while Egypt has lost around $60 billion (from $330 billion), and Nigeria has lost as much as $155 billion (from $490 billion).
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