Sub-Saharan Africa: Countries, population and economy

Sub-Saharan Africa is argued to be the poorest part of the world in terms of demographics. The region consists of all nations that are located south of the Sahara desert, which typically includes all African nations, excluding countries in North Africa. 

There are over one billion people living in Sub-Saharan Africa, with over 65% of that population living below the poverty line. The region has been pulled down by corruption, civil conflicts, communal wars, an increasing population and a low life expectancy.

Sub-saharan Africa is also the least migrated region in the world. The region’s economy stands at $1.92 trillion as of 2021, with Nigeria and South Africa claiming over 50% of the sum. Sub-Saharan Africa has a GDP per capita income of $1,645 with nine of the top ten poorest countries situated in the region. The region’s biggest economy is agriculture, which is also the regions largest employer of labour, employing over 60% of the entire population of the region. Also, Sub-Saharan Africa has strong reserves of natural resources and is the richest region on the planet in terms of mineral resources. 

The region is the world’s lowest emitter of CO2 emissions having only 0.7% with South Africa being the continent’s largest emitter.  

This article details all there is to know about the various countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

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List of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and population

Country	Population	Capital
Angola	33,086,278	Luanda
Benin	12,506,347	Porto Novo
Botswana	2,410,338	Gaborone
Burkina Faso	21,510,181	Ouagadougou
Burundi	12,574,571	Bujumbura
Cabo Verde	563,198	Praia
Cameroon	27,220,000	Yaounde
Central African Republic	5,633,412	Bangui
Chad	16,818,391	N’Djamena
Comoros	798,000	Moroni
Côte d’Ivoire	29,389,150	Yamoussoukro
Democratic Republic of the Congo	99,010,000	Kinshasa
Equatorial Guinea	1,505,588	Malabo
Eritrea	3,684,000	Asmera
Eswatini	1,202,000	Mbabane
Ethiopia	105,163,988	Addis Ababa
Gabon	2,233,272	Libreville
Ghana	33,133,230	Accra
Guinea	12,907,395	Conakry
Guinea-Bissau	1,647,000	Bissau
Kenya	56,622,037	Nairobi
Lesotho	2,183,006	Maseru
Liberia	5,343,155	Monrovia
Madagascar	29,400,710	Antananarivo
Malawi	21,507,723	Lilongwe
Mali	22,594,000	Bamako
Mauritania	4,556,758	Nouakchott
Mauritius	1,276,825	Port Louis
Mozambique	31,616,078	Maputo
Namibia	2,550,226	Windhoek
Niger	26,309,583	Niamey
Nigeria	218,541,000	Abuja
Republic of the Congo	5,970,000	Brazzaville
Rwanda	13,722,415	Kigali
São Tomé and Príncipe	223,364	Sao Tome
Senegal	17,223,497	Dakar
Seychelles	100,447	Victoria
Sierra Leone	8,494,260	Freetown
Somalia	17,598,000	Mogadishu
South Africa	60,604,992	Pretoria
South Sudan	11,380,000	Juba
Sudan	44,956,995	Khartoum
Tanzania	61,280,743	Dodoma
The Gambia	2,706,000	Banjul
Togo	7,886,000	Lome
Uganda	48,971,937	Kampala
Zambia	19,623,400	Lusaka
Zimbabwe	15,178,979	Harare

10 Largest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Rank	Country	GDP
1.	Nigeria	$440,776,971.54
2.	South Africa	$419,946,428.13
3.	Ethiopia	$111,271,112.33
4.	Kenya	$110,347,079.52
5.	Ghana	$77,594,279.05
6.	Angola	$72,546,985.71
7	Cote d’Ivoire	$69,764,827.47
8.	Tanzania	$67,775,101.79
9.	Democratic Republic of the Congo	53,958,573.69
10.	Cameroon	45,238,613.48

Nigeria and South Africa are by far the biggest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

10 Smallest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Rank	Country	GDP
1.	Sao Tome and Principe	$547,092.92
2.	Seychelles	$1,320,053.79
3.	Comoros	$1,327,964.25
4.	Guinea-Bissau	$1,638,517.53
5.	Cabo Verde	$1,936,174.04
6.	Eritrea	$2,065,001.63
7.	The Gambia	$2,078,070.68
8.	Central African Republic	$2,516,498.30
9.	Lesotho	$2,518,468.89
10.	Burundi	$2,902,029.39

Sao Tome and Principe have the smallest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

10 Richest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

Here are the richest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa by GDP per capita

Rank	Country	GDP per capita
1.	Seychelles	$13,306.7
2.	Mauritius	$8,812.1
3.	Equatorial Guinea	$8,462.3
4.	Gabon	$8,017.0
5.	Botswana	$7,347.6
6.	South Africa	$6,994.2
7.	Namibia	4,729.3
8	Eswatini	$4,214.9
9.	Cabo Verde	$3,445.8
10.	Cote d’Ivoire	$2,578.8

Seychelles is the richest country in Sub-Saharan Africa when you consider GDP per capita.

10 Poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

Here are the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa based on GDP per capita

Rank	Countries	GDP per capita
1.	Burundi	$236.8
2.	Somalia	$445.8
3.	Mozambique	$500.4
4.	Central African Republic	$511.5
5.	Madagascar	$514.9
6.	Sierra Leone	$515.9
7.	Democratic Republic of the Congo	$584.1
8.	Niger	$594.9
9.	Eritrea	$642.5
10	Malawi	$642.7

Burundi is the poorest country in Sub-Saharan Africa when you consider GDP per capita.

Regional analysis

Southern Africa

This is the Southern region of Sub-Saharan Africa consists of plateaus, islands, coastal mountains and escarpments that stretch down to the Indian ocean. The region bothers the Atlantic Ocean to its west and the Indian Ocean to its east. 

Southern Africa’s climate is seasonal, ranging from arid to semiarid and from temperate to tropical. Drought is very common in this region.

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Economically the region is the most developed in the Sub-Saharan region having a strong development index of 5.0. South Africa is the region’s biggest economy and population size. The countries in the Southern Africa Sub-Sahara are:

Countries	Capital	Population	Language
Angola	Luanda	33,086,278	Portuguese
Botswana	Gaborone	2,410,338	English
Eswatini	Mbabane	1,202,000	Portuguese
Lesotho	Maseru	2,183,006	Sotho, English
Namibia	Windhoek	2,550,226	English
South Africa	Pretoria	60,604,992	English, Afrikaans, Sotho, Xhosa and Zulu

Central Africa

Central Africa is the central region of Sub-Saharan Africa. Central Africa has had one of the world’s highest reserves of archaeological findings since history.

It provides evidence of human settlements that date back to over thousands of years like the iron smelting and extensive wall site that dates back to over 3000 years have been discovered in this region.

Agriculture remains the influence of the Central African economy accounting for over 70% of the country’s labour force. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest country in the region and also possesses the largest reserve of any other country on the continent. 

Eight countries make up the Central African region, these countries are the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Republic, Cameroon, São Tomé and Príncipe, Chad and Gabon.

Country	Capital	Population	Language
Cameroon	Yaounde	27,220,000	English, French
Central African Republic	Bangui	5,633,412	Sango, French
Chad	N’Djamena	16,818,391	French, Arabic
Democratic Republic of Congo	Kinshasa	13,171,000	French
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	1,505,588	Spanish, Portuguese, French
Gabon	Libreville	2,233,272	French
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	5,970,000	French
São Tomé and Príncipe	Sao Tome	223,364	Portuguese

West Africa

West Africa is known for having a major migration movement known as Bantu Expansion around 2300 BCE.

Some areas are based on the Trans-Saharan trade, and some areas are also built on stone-like structures, but mainly constructed in adobe. West Africa has a significantly strong economic block not comparable to any other region on the continent, except that of East Africa. The region is made up of over 15 countries with some having strong economies and others being small nations. 

The largest economy in west Africa is Nigeria, which also holds over 70% of the entire west African economy. The West African region also produces 80% of the world’s total cocoa, cassava, and yams

Countries	Capital	Population	Language
Benin	Porto Novo	12,506,347	French
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	21,510,181	French
Cabo Verde	Praia	563,198	Portuguese
Côte d’Ivoire	Yamoussoukro	29,389,150	French
Ghana	Accra	33,133,230	English
Guinea	Conakry	12,907,395	French
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	1,647,000	Portuguese
Liberia	Monrovia	3,786,764	English
Mali	Bamako	22,594,000	French
Mauritania	Nouakchott	4,556,758	Arabic
Niger	Niamey	26,309,583	French
Nigeria	Abuja	218,541,000	English
Senegal	Dakar	17,223,497	French
Sierra Leone	Freetown	8,494,260	English
The Gambia	Banjul	2,706,000	English
Togo	Lome	7,886,000	French

Eastern Africa

The Eastern region of Sub-Saharan Africa is mostly influenced by agriculture. It often is Africa’s gateway to trading with India and the Mediterranean.

Economically, the East African region has the most powerful and most united block than any other region. Ethiopia is the region’s largest economy and also the region’s most populated with over 100 million people.

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The Kenyan capital is a financial powerhouse on the African continent. Ethiopia is also home to the African Union Headquarters. Nonetheless, the region is marked with strong inequalities and is home to a majority of the world’s poorest nations.

The table below contains the country, capital, population and language of the Eastern Sub-Saharan countries.

Countries	Capital	Population	Language
Burundi	Bujumbura	12,574,571	Kirundi, French, English
Comoros	Moroni	798,000	Arabic, French
Eritrea	Asmera	896,000	Tigrinya, Tigre, Saho, Kunama, Rashaida, Bilen, Afar, Beni, Amir, Nera.
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	105,163,988	Oromo, Amharic, Somali, Tigrinya, Afar
Kenya	Nairobi	56,622,037	English
Madagascar	Antananarivo	29,400,710	Malagasy, French
Malawi	Lilongwe	21,507,723	English
Mauritius	Port Louis	149,000	English
Mozambique	Maputo	31,616,078	Portuguese
Rwanda	Kigali	13,722,415	Kinyarwanda, English, French, Swahili
Seychelles	Victoria	100,447	Creole, English, French
Somalia	Mogadishu	17,598,000	Somali, Arabic
South Sudan	Juba	11,380,000	English
Sudan	Khartoum	44,956,995	Arabic, English
Uganda	Kampala	48,971,937	English, Swahili
Tanzania	Dodoma	61,280,743	English, Kiswahili
Zimbabwe	Harare	15,178,979	English, Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, Sign Language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa
Zambia	Lusaka	19,623,400	English

Conclusion

The Sub-Saharan countries are 48 out of the 54 African countries in Africa. The region is known for a particular way of life that differs from other regions of the world, including North Africa. 

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