South Africa beats Egypt, now Africa's second biggest economy behind Nigeria

The South African economy is officially Africa’s second biggest only behind Nigeria. The rainbow nation surpassed north African giants, Egypt to become the continent’s second biggest economy.

According to the latest projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), South Africa has gone ahead of Egypt after recording a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of around $275 billion, $5 billion more than Egypt’s $270 billion.

#SouthAfrica, the long-time largest economy in Africa, has also closed the gap with Nigeria to just $60 billion (IMF).

— Clayson Monyela (@ClaysonMonyela) July 17, 2016

Nigeria’s economy has meanwhile slumped significantly since the long expected currency devaluation which saw the Naira drop by an estimated 30 percent.

Despite the devaluation, and drop in oil prices, the west African nation – and Africa’s most populous country – remains the continent’s biggest economy.

The gap between South Africa and Nigeria is now much lesser, standing at $60 billion compared to the $170 billion gap recorded at the end of last year. 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 2015.

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).