The land of Africa is diverse with culture, art forms, as well as different types of currencies. There are countries, states, and cities that contribute to the wealth of Africa.
In this article, we are going to explore the top 10 richest cities in Africa. These cities are the ones that have the presence of the most millionaires, billionaires, and other high-net-worth individuals.
It can be seen that many of the richest African cities are in South Africa. You can also see that many of the below-given cities happen to be the capital cities of the respective nations that they belong to.
Africa holds around 30 percent of the total mineral serves in the world followed by 12 percent of global oil reserves and 8 percent of the natural gas resources. Africa has approximately 40 percent of the world’s gold deposits and 90 percent of the Chromium and platinum deposits.
List Of Top 10 Richest Cities In Africa 2023
- Johannesburg
- Cairo
- Cape Town
- Lagos
- Nairobi
- Durban
- Casablanca
- Pretoria
- Accra
- Luanda
How do we determine the wealth of a nation? Read ahead to find out the answer to this question.
The metrics for assessing the wealth of a nation are the number of high-net-worth individuals, luxury management of the nation, wealth management of the nation, investment opportunities in the nation, migration sector investment of the nation, and economic mobility on the continent.
A millionaire is someone whose net worth is equivalent to one million dollars or more. A high net worth individual is someone who has at least 5 million dollars in net worth.
We are starting the article from the 10th richest city in Africa. Let’s dive deeper into the list and get to know more about the cities.
10. Luanda
Luanda is a South African city. It is the capital of Angola. Luanda also happens to be the largest city in Angola. It is also one of the most expensive cities because of the high cost of living.
The city is known for its cultural importance and serves as the focal point of the Angolan culture The flourishing of the sectors such as real estate, transportation, and construction contributes to the wealth of Luanda as a city.
Despite being listed in the list of the top 10 richest cities in Africa, half of Luanda’s population lives in poverty. A part of these people does not have access to electricity and clean drinking water.
The cost of house rent in Luanda can be as high as 10,000 US dollars a month, which most people can’t even dream of. Luanda is an oil-rich nation but the presence of imported goods and security products in the market is high.
9. Accra
Accra is the capital city of Ghana. It is next on the list of the wealthiest cities in Africa. Being the largest city of Ghana, it is located near the southern coast of the Gulf of Guinea.
The riches of Accra are accumulated in the Airport residential area and other areas such as Cantonments, Labone, West Lagon, Dzorwulu, and Roman Ridge. The main products of the city are textiles, processed food, and lumber.
The city’s economy is divided into three sectors, primary, secondary, and tertiary. The primary sector is made up of electricity, manufacturing, construction, water, and gas.
The secondary sector consists of the same fields. The tertiary sector is more o a service sector and is also the largest among the sectors.
It includes real estate, transportation, education, communication, storage, hotel, restaurant, shopping malls, supermarkets, financial intermediation, and public administration. Johannesburg, the richest city in Africa is an official sister city of Accra.
8. Pretoria
Pretoria is a South African city that is eighth in position in the list of the top 10 wealthiest cities in Africa. This city is the administrative capital of South Africa. All the foreign embassies in South Africa are in Pretoria.
This city is South Africa’s administrative capital and has the presence of foreign embassies. It is known for the Waterkloof and Waterkloof Ridge. This city has many luxury lifestyle estates like Silver Lakes Estate and Mooikloof Equestrian Estate.
Pretoria is of great cultural significance and is famous for its National Cultural History Museum, the Kruger Museum, and an art museum. It is situated to the northeast of Johannesburg, the richest city in Africa.
Pretoria is the richest area in Gauteng. East Pretoria’s Waterkloof is the most expensive area in Gauteng. This city in the list of the richest cities in Africa is known for its well-aligned streets lined on both sides with jacaranda trees.
7. Casablanca
Casablanca the Moroccan city, is one of the commercial leaders in North Africa. It plays an important role both in the business and economic sectors of Morocco. The country’s chief port is in Casablanca.
This port by the name of the Port of Casablanca is one of the largest artificial ports in the world. It is one of the top exporters of Phosphate.
The industries that contribute to the wealth of the city are furniture production, fish canning, fishing, textiles, sawmills, building materials, leatherwork, glass, leatherwork, and electronics.
The other industries that contribute to the city’s wealth are processed food, soft drinks, and spirits. Cigarettes are also a source of revenue for the city of Casablanca.
The cost of living in Casablanca is higher than in the rest of the parts of Morocco. Casablanca had an international ranking of 54 in the 2022 Global Financial Centres Index by the Global Financial Centre.
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6. Durban
Durban is another city on the list of the top 10 richest cities in Africa. There are around 3,600 millionaires in Durban. Most of them have built their houses in Ballito, Umhlanga, and La Lucia.
The city is also the most successful lifestyle estate in the entire African continent such as Izinga Estate, Simbithi Estate, Zimbali Estate, Hawaan Forest Estate, and Brettenwood Estate. It is also home to another luxury apartment complex like the Lagoon Drive in the Umhlanga.
It is a South African city laying close to the Indian Ocean. The beach area has luxury hotels that generate a major part of the revenue from tourists.
This area of beach in Durban is often referred to as the Miami Beach of South Africa. Durban is home to the world’s fifth-largest aquarium, The Ushaka Marine World. Durban’s container port is the busiest container port in entire Africa.
5. Nairobi
Nairobi is a Kenyan city and also the capital city of Kenya. It is the world’s one and only city with a national park. It is often referred to as the commercial as well as the financial regional hub of Kenya.
What helps Nairobi to grow its economy is the growth that happened in industries such as real estate, construction, telecommunications, and tourism.
The major revenue streams of the city are from house rents, parking fees, building permits, single business permits, adverts, and billboards. All these industries togetherly generate approximately 80 percent of the annual own-source revenue of the city.
The Naiorbi Railways are the biggest single industrial employer in the city. Production of processed food and beverages contributes to the revenue generation of the city. Tourism is another relevant sector as the city is famous for its hiking trails, safari parks, museums, and marketplaces.
Nairobi is one of the richest cities in Africa. The city has a poverty rate of 1.3 percent.
4. Lagos
Lagos is a Nigerian city and the largest one in the entire nation. It acts as a bridge between the imports and exports of various products. The richest area in Lagos is Ikoyi where many of the billionaires have properties.
Ikoyi also has administrative importance with hosting the Nigerian Government Presidential Secretariat and the residence of the Deputy Governor of the State. Lagos is the wealthiest in Nigeria but urban poverty has been reported in the city. This city has the title of the entertainment capital of Africa.
Lagos can be found in the list of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in the world and also in the list of the top 10 fastest-growing urban areas. What contributes to the economy of the city are the sectors of education, commerce, technology, art, tourism, and entertainment. The city is referred to as the boom town of Africa.
It is estimated to have a wealth of 120 billion US dollars. Lagos is also one of the focal points of financial dealings in Africa.
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3. Cape Town
The city of Cape Town has more than 7,200 millionaires residing in it. The richest suburbs in Cape Town are Constantia, Llandudno, Bakoven, Clifton, Bishopscourt, Fresnaye, Bantry Bay, and Camps Bay. Some of the rich people house at Tokai, Somerset West, and St. James. Bantry Bay is the richest suburb among these.
Cape Town has the most expensive suburbs in entire South Africa. The main source of revenue is generated from the financial and business services sector.
Another major revenue generation is from manufacturing. Fruits such as grapes and fresh oranges are the top exports of Lagos. What contributed to the richness of the city is the rapid growth it experienced in the tourism sector.
This added to the GDP (gross domestic product) of the city, The growth in tourism was the major factor that contributed to the GDP acceleration for South Africa also. Cape Town has an estimated total wealth of almost 135 billion US dollars.
2. Cairo
The city of Cairo is the capital of Egypt, the land of the Pyramids. It is the second richest city in Africa. The total wealth of the city is calculated at 140 billion US dollars. It is the largest city in Egypt with a population of 10 million people.
Cairo has a title other than one of the richest cities in Africa. That is one of the cleanest cities in Africa. The richest area of Cairo is Garden City followed by Zamalek, Mohandessin, Maddi, and Heliopolis. The rich people reside in these areas and hold poetry in these areas.
Tourism is a major source of revenue as millions of tourists arrive every year just to watch the Giza Pyramids. The richest man in Egypt, Nassef Sawiris, lives in Cairo. Alone, Nassef Sawiris’s net worth is 7.3 billion US dollars. Cairo’s largest industry is clothing and exports followed by agriculture and petroleum imports.
1. Johannesburg
Finally, here we are at the bottom of our article. That is with the richest city in Africa in 2023. The city has approximately 14,600 millionaires residing in it. The wealthiest suburbs of the city are Sandhurst, Hyde Park, and Westcliff. It is South Africa’s largest city.
The wealth of Johannesburg is estimated at 248 billion US dollars. The city also consists of many lifestyle estates on the outer skirts of the city. These include the Waterfall Equestrian Estate, Dainfern, and Steyn City. The city is at the top of the list of the wealthiest cities in Africa.
This South African city produces 16 percent of the whole GDP of South Africa. It is also responsible for 40 percent of Gauteng province’s income. The city hosts the highest court in South Africa known as the Constitutional Court.
It is also home to the headquarters of most of the businesses and banks centering around South Africa. The city has the largest stock market in the African continent.
Conclusion
The article ‘top 10 richest cities in Africa’, comes to an end here. Now we know the importance each of these cities has in the map of Africa. A common source of income in many of the cities is tourism, electricity, natural oils, and businesses.
The growth that took place in these sectors such as trekking, telecommunications, and technology has indeed helped all these cities to grow too. It is known that the richest city in Africa is Johannesburg followed by Cairo and Cape Town in second and third positions.
