Côte d'Ivoire now the richest country in West Africa

Côte d'Ivoire is now the richest country in West Africa, says Cameroonian journalist Said Penda.

The latest statistics recently published by the World Bank, rank Côte d'Ivoire first with a GDP per capita that stands at $2,286 at the end of 2019, followed by Nigeria ($2,230) and Ghana ($2,202).

La Côte d’Ivoire désormais le pays le plus riche en Afrique de l’Ouest

In a decade, Alassane Ouattara's country has thus doubled its GDP per capita, which was less than $1,000 when the current president came to power in 2011. This is the second highest increase in terms of wealth production in Africa.

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Abidjan is outpaced only by Equatorial Guinea, which has experienced the strongest growth in this area after the oil boom of this small country very sparsely populated Central Africa (less than one million inhabitants).

La Côte d’Ivoire désormais le pays le plus riche en Afrique de l’Ouest

Experts from international financial institutions note that the economic performance recorded by the Ouattara regime is all the more remarkable because it is not the result of the exploitation of a rich subsoil, but rather of intelligent economic policies and well thought-out structural reforms.

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In the two other ECOWAS countries that are close to Côte d'Ivoire in this ranking (Nigeria and Ghana), wealth production is rather the result of mining and oil exploitation. Indeed, first producer of gold in Africa (142.4 tons in 2019, against only 32.5 tons for Côte d'Ivoire), Ghana also produces five times more oil than the country of Alassane Ouattara (about 200,000 barrels per day, against less than 40,000).

La Côte d’Ivoire désormais le pays le plus riche en Afrique de l’Ouest

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Observers and experts on economic issues note that "having elected a genius expert on economic and financial issues has had undeniable beneficial effects on Côte d'Ivoire, if we judge by the reality of the figures and the palpable impact on the population.

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