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Africa Economy: Mauritius population ranked richest in Africa, Zimbabweans poorest

Xinhua, March 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Mauritius population is the richest in Africa with an average wealth of 21,700 U.S. dollars per person, while Zimbabwe population is the poorest with a per capita wealth of just 200 dollars, a Research and Markets report titled "The Africa 2016 Wealth Report" released on Monday showed.

Mauritius was ranked ahead of South Africa with a per capita wealth of 10,300 dollars, Namibia (10,200 dollars), Botswana (8,400 dollars) and Algeria (6,200 dollars).

According to the report, the high wealth per capita in Mauritius could be explained by factors such as secure property rights, a thriving financial sector, low crime rates, migration of a large number of wealthy individuals, low taxes and low level of government regulation in the business sector.

The report which was in its third edition, examined various factors related to wealth in Africa, including the trends of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI), the luxury trends and wealth management trends in each country.

It concluded that Africa has about 165,000 High Net Worth Individuals, with combined wealth holdings of 860 billion dollars. HNWIs are the wealthiest people in Africa with at least one million U.S. dollars, without considering their living expenses.

About 125 billion dollars of the wealth of Africa's HNWIs is tied up with wealth management companies.

It was further revealed that South Africa, especially Johannesburg, is the hub for Africa's private banking, with at least 72 billion dollars in banks.

The report estimates that the African market of private banks will record a 7 percent annual increase for the next ten years, and that the most promising African emerging markets for private banks are Ghana and Kenya.

In Africa, around 28 billion dollars is tied up in venture capital companies and foundations that are linked to the wealthy. Many HNWIs use these vehicles as a way to transfer money to the next generation.

According to the 2016 ranking by Forbes, Nigerian Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa with a net worth of 14.4 billion dollars. His wealth was mostly made in manufacturing sector. Enditem