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22.08.2017 Opinion

The Richest Continent And Yet The Poorest People?

By David Albert Quainoo || International Correspondent
The Richest Continent And Yet The Poorest People?
22.08.2017 LISTEN

Arguably Africa is by far the richest continent with the emphasis on resources. Yet most of the people from this continent continue to wallop in extreme poverty for many years.

Africa is actually one of the wealthiest continents in the world in terms of natural resources. Many countries in Africa contain rich reserves of valuable minerals like coltan, diamonds, gold, and bauxite, as well as other valuable commodities like oil, gas, and timber to mention few.

Westerners are always uncomfortable when people refer to Africa as the richest continent in the world.

They argue,"Riches is not by what is inside the land but it is about what the people on the land are capable of doing with whatever is in the land.

They claim the misleading impression of "Africa being the richest continent in the world" actually makes people extractors and exporters of natural resources.

According to many Ghananewsarena.com sampled, wealth is not in the exportation of natural resources but rather in the conversion of natural resources into finished goods.

"Thus, the importer of the natural resources to convert it into finished goods could be labeled as riches than the exportation of raw resources or any form of crude.

Therefore making a claim that Africa is actually the poorest continent in the world because wealth is created by developed and critical thinking leaders and not by myopic minds and undeveloped people.

These findings by Ghananewsarena.com's editor David Albert Quainoo is intended to be used as a yardstick to measure the wealth of Africa by the number of people it boasts of and by how much such people are developed into being capable of converting raw materials into finished goods.

Let's begin by checking the income of the average African as a result of his or her productivity; thus real Per Capita Income. This will help us to get the real truth about how rich is the African living in their Continent.

Now let's delve into the real deal and elaborate more on how the current rating of GDP Per Capita is measured; with extracts from a publication on May 4, 2017 and updated on August 1, 2017

By John Misachi on WorldAtlas.com
GDP Per Capita measures the economic output of a country by accounting for its population. It is calculated by dividing the gross domestic product by the population of that country. GDP per capita is the best measurement for the standard of living in a country indicating how prosperous the citizens of a country feel. GDP per capita also allows for the comparison of the prosperity of the different continents of the Earth.

GDP per capita of a continent is obtained by adding the GDP per capita of each of the countries making the continent. The GDP per capita of the world can be obtained summing the GDP per capita of the seven continents. As of 2016, the world’s GDP per capita averaged US$ 10,300.

Comparing GDP Per Capita Of Different Continents
GDP per capita of a country is obtained by dividing the GDP by the size of the population. To obtain a fair GDP per capita of a continent, one must use Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) GDP which brings about parity or equality among countries of a continent by considering a set of similar goods.

The PPP values a country’s currency by the amount of goods it can purchase in that country and not just by its value thereby removing the exchange rate problem. However, it does not reflect the economic output in international trade.

North America: Continent With The Highest GDP Per Capita.

North America has a multifaceted economic system and the largest GDP per capita according to the International Monetary Fund 2016 report. The US, Canada, and Mexico have some of the largest economies in the world promoted by the large gross domestic product.

The continent had a cumulative GDP of about $20 trillion against a population of 360 million people. The continent had a GDP per capita (nominal) of US$37,477 in 2016. The US is the largest economy in North America accounting for over 85% of the continent’s gross domestic product.

Africa: Continent With The Lowest GDP Per Capita
Africa is the poorest continent according to GDP per capita. Most of the top ten poorest countries are in Africa with the majority having a per capita GDP of less than $1,500. Africa has an average GDP per capita of 1,809, the lowest of the six continents.

Unlike developed economies, poor African countries do not have large markets for their products. Many African countries are also landlocked and rely on other countries to get their goods to the market thus increasing their cost and reducing the competitiveness of their prices.

The Continents Of The World By GDP Per Capita
Rank, Continent GDP per capita (US$),Year
1 World Average 10,300 2016
2 North America 37,477 2016
3 Oceania 35,087 2016
4 Europe 25,851 2016
5 South America 8,520 2016
6 Asia 5,635 2016
7 Africa 1,809 2016
8 Antarctica 0 (N/A) 2016

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