From 2002 to 2023, Nigeria’s GDP per capita consistently stayed ahead of the Sub-Saharan African average, buoyed especially during the oil boom years. The most notable lead came in 2014, when Nigeria reached $3,088.7, about 64% higher than the region’s $1,886.5. However, after the 2014 global oil crash, Nigeria’s GDP per capita began a steady descent, gradually closing the gap. By 2023, both figures had nearly converged. In 2024, Nigeria’s figure collapsed to $806.9, its lowest in two decades and now $710 below Sub-Saharan Africa’s average of $1,516.4, marking a dramatic reversal in economic positioning.
Burundi recorded its highest GDP per capita in 2015 ($280.97).
By 2024, GDP per capita dropped to $153.93, a decline of nearly 45% from its peak.
Burundi’s population exceeds 13 million (2024), which dilutes income per person even when overall GDP grows.
Structural challenges like limited industrialization, reliance on subsistence farming, and political instability contribute to stagnation.
Since 2015, Burundi has held the lowest GDP per capita in Africa—and at $153.9 in 2024, it is the poorest country in the world by GDP per capita.
