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These cities are the hubs of Africa’s economic boom
South Africa is no longer the only place on the continent that has urban wealth clusters
04 October, 2018
Image: Visual Capitalist
- The wealth of Africans is projected to grow by a third over the next decade
- The continent's wealth is agglomerating in a number of urban clusters, in the south, east and west
- Wealth is collected in a few other places - isolated capitals and mini-clusters stretching from Morocco down to Angola
<p>Over the past decade, 19,000 Africans have become dollar millionaires. Africa's combined wealth has grown by 13% - 3% just in the last year alone. The combined individual wealth of all Africans is $2.3 trillion today – by the end of 2027, it will have increased by a third to $3.1 trillion. Clearly, it's boom time in Africa.</p><p>This map offers a revealing perspective on the wealth of the continent. The African subsoil may be resource-rich in many places, but as elsewhere in the world, it's in the great urban centres that money accumulates. And people too: by 2100, 13 of the world's 20 biggest megacities will be in Africa. </p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTg3Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDQ3NDA1OX0.PfLkszYfZGucGBtp5q1fLKxMb0yEroDNty7dX0UY5Ig/img.jpg?width=980" id="28594" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="137ea2ddaed97e136959017b1ad612d4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">South Africa still boasts the main concentration of wealth in Africa, but no longer the only one.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Image: Visual Capitalist</small></p><p>And this overview of Africa's richest cities, based on the The <a href="https://www.afrasiabank.com/en/about/newsroom/afri..." target="_blank">AfrAsia Bank Africa Wealth Report 2018</a>, indicates where clusters of wealthy cities are developing across the continent, as well as showing a few more isolated locations of money aggregation.<br></p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Long the most developed nation on the continent, South Africa – with four of Africa's ten richest cities – continues to be the economic engine of Africa's southern half. With a total GDP of $722 billion, South Africa as a whole continues to be the continent's wealthiest country, but on a per-capita basis it comes second after the tiny island nation of Mauritius ($32,700). </li><li>The East African economy is dominated by a string of wealthy cities, from Uganda's capital Kampala via Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's biggest city.</li><li>In West Africa, a similar transnational conglomeration runs from Abidjan in Ivory Coast over Ghana's Accra to Lagos and Abidjan in Nigeria. </li><li>In Morocco, Casablanca's wealth is flanked by that of Tangier and Marrakesh. In Egypt, Cairo dwarfs but not completely outshines Alexandria. </li><li>The 'isolates', in descending order, are four capitals: Luanda (Angola), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Windhoek (Namibia) and Lusaka (Zambia). </li></ul><p>Here are Africa's 10 wealthiest cities: <span></span></p>
<p>Over the next decade, the AfrAsia Bank's report expects growth to remain strong in South Africa, Angola, Morocco, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Nigeria – not coincidentally countries hosting many of the hubs shown on this map.</p><p>But the strongest growth projections apply to some of the smaller countries in Africa: Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana and Mauritius. </p><p><br></p><p><em>Map found </em><em><a href="http://www.visualcapitalist.com/map-cities-hold-africas-wealth/" target="_blank">here</a></em><em> at </em><a href="http://www.visualcapitalist.com/" target="_blank">Visual Capitalist</a><em>.</em></p><p><strong>Strange Maps #941</strong></p><p><em>Got a strange map? Let me know at</em> <a href="mailto:strangemaps@gmail.com">strangemaps@gmail.com</a>.</p>
1. Johannesburg (South Africa): $276 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTg4My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzIxNzkyMX0.y5i1m2-gftKlfEU5J4WoOf4mqm7QOd-Tv1W1Dx5Ommo/img.jpg?width=980" id="f1ccd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="42eb371f9666c44309d94bfb0acd4e33" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jo'burg city centre.
Image: Brand South Africa
<p>Fittingly, Africa's richest city was built on gold – on the Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886, to be exact. It's the commercial capital of South Africa and the wider region.</p>2. Cape Town (South Africa): $155 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTkyMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzE1NzE1M30.y4jF0cdZZn5Wpd2_i3Hwky1zCVngHYj7NxqUjmpEOQA/img.jpg?width=980" id="72bbd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="891819248db0454bfd4df21b9278886a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />View of Cape Town's City Bowl from Lion's Head, with Signal Hill and Cape Flats in the distance
Image: Martin Power, CC BY-SA 3.0
<p>The city with Africa's highest prime residential rates, at around $6,100 per square metre (similar to DC or Berlin) also is an important hub for financial services, retail and tourism. <br></p>3. Cairo (Egypt): $140 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTkxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzIwMDM4Mn0.AWGrboRDiKp5JpkUDeVN_EaBBKVUBoBIGjtbad7lQZM/img.jpg?width=980" id="09010" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2a8c1739d3aea2a1ffc61ab6b8137724" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Rooftops of Cairo
Image: Luc Legay, CC BY-SA 2.0
<p>Real estate, financial services and construction are some of the key sectors in this city of 9 million, the biggest metropolis in the Middle East. <br></p>4. Lagos (Nigeria): $108 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTkxNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNjIwNTk2N30.geYNJE-ufxC2_22Aa8exUuL9FGDXHijT6hSuL5Ik1w8/img.jpg?width=980" id="0f297" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1d184c254b90e00ac8205f2e7d420634" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />The Golden Plaza in Ikoyi, Lagos. On the left the Falomo Bridge to Victoria Island
Image: Ulf Ryttgens, CC BY-SA 1.0
<p>It may no longer be the country's capital, Lagos still is the gateway for 80% of Nigeria's exports – and the centre of the burgeoning film industry, a.k.a. Nollywood. At 21 million inhabitants (2016 est.), it's Africa's largest metropolis, as well as one of the world's fastest-growing cities.<br></p>5. Durban (South Africa): $55 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTkxMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjQ4MjY4OH0.Dat_zbNLaJWqQvIRJQTvl4ja2kVJuUcP1drKWyFkenU/img.jpg?width=980" id="40af6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f3aece3edb4eccc12577e298dad370df" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Indian Ocean beach at Durban
Image: Brand South Africa
<p>Subtropical Durban is South Africa's third-biggest city (after Johannesburg and Cape Town), second-biggest manufacturing hub and biggest port, as well as a major tourist destination. Durban's Gateway Theatre of Shopping is Africa's biggest mall. It has 12,000 parking slots, 390 stores, 90 restaurants, more than a dozen movie theatres (including an IMAX theatre), a skate park designed by Tony Hawk, and the highest fountain in Africa.<br></p>6. Nairobi (Kenya): $54 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTkxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzQ4NTI5NX0.V9a7ctArcPCqwHHKKzzCAOBtJ5kz7wLzXlxTQU7y9XE/img.jpg?width=980" id="821a2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="caf1f49586fe742473086e05c1495a8e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Nairobi skyline
Image: © Sam Stearman
<p>Kenya's capital and largest city (metro area: 7 million) Nairobi is also known as the Green City in the Sun. Founded in 1899 by the British as a rail depot, the city today is home to thousands of Kenyan businesses, as well as the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Africa's 4th-largest stock exchange; and regional hub for hundreds of multinationals.<br></p>7. Luanda (Angola): $49 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTkwNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMDE1NjU1NH0._dNmmqRnH_qEW2R8Qi3wbLdCT0z5XvZ7I7dl1pqqMgc/img.jpg?width=980" id="c48d7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="564bf8602eab48e56023fae1a9ff611e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />View of Luanda's harbour, with the Restinga peninsula in the background
Image: OneVillage Initiative, CC BY-SA 2.0
<p>Luanda is the biggest city, major port and capital of Angola – and its metro area is home to one in three Angolans. While the majority of Luandans live in poverty, the booming oil and gas industry has created huge wealth for a minority (as well as a boom in banking and building). Luanda is one of the world's most expensive cities for ex-pats, in part because of high import tariffs imposed to help pay for diversifying the economy.<br></p>8. Pretoria (South Africa): $48 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTkwNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTk0MjAzN30.IKyWH8NX9YX9B2KDue79uL4d0XlOEjxwVGcm4GhdyFw/img.jpg?width=980" id="1a38e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3d5b4aa3d632efc1657a0f53a7a92639" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Pretoria's central business district, seen from Muckleneuk Hill
Image: Petrus Potgieter/public domain
<p>The administrative capital of South Africa and the hub of the wider Tshwane metro area, Pretoria is also a centre for academia and R&D, as well as commerce and industry, including metalworks to car factories.<br></p>9. Casablanca (Morocco): $42 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTkwMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNTMwMTM1NH0.zeyU9eprek8CmEoVuh0WV-marYAqiswT3IotLHDevlk/img.jpg?width=980" id="afbf0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd69383a938965af49ccc8ca9f2106c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Dawn over Casablanca
Image: Achalhikarim, CC BY-SA 4.0
<p>Officially <em>ad-Dar al-Bayda</em> in Arabic but informally known as <em>Kaza</em>, Casablanca is the largest city in the entire Maghreb region (metro area: 7 million), and its economic hub. It is important both as port city and financial centre. Major Moroccan and multinational companies are headquartered here rather than in the political capital Rabat. <br></p>10. Accra (Ghana): $38 billion
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY4OTg5Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTY0NTQ2MH0.KqINGYxTikHKZlRMRxnub0ghpA2612OC33WeLf1Pick/img.jpg?width=980" id="ed546" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9a482a195fe5feec06b19c62da1bc1af" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Independence Arch in Accra
<p>A merger of coastal settlements around British, Dutch and Danish coastal forts, Accra in 1957 became the capital of sub-Saharan Africa's first independent nation. Today, it is a centre for manufacturing, marketing, finance, insurance, and transportation.</p>
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