Gross capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Gross capital formation was 23.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Gross capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, gross capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 23.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.6% on the previous year and down 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gross capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 25.3% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 17.2%, in 1997.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 26th out of 43 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Gross capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 23.3% | — |
| 1991 | 22.5% | -3.5% |
| 1992 | 22.4% | -0.4% |
| 1993 | 21.1% | -5.8% |
| 1994 | 22.5% | +6.8% |
| 1995 | 20.2% | -10.3% |
| 1996 | 18.1% | -10.5% |
| 1997 | 17.2% | -4.6% |
| 1998 | 17.7% | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 23.4% | +32.3% |
| 2000 | 23.0% | -1.6% |
| 2001 | 22.3% | -3.2% |
| 2002 | 20.7% | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 22.3% | +7.9% |
| 2004 | 23.3% | +4.5% |
| 2005 | 22.5% | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 22.0% | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 23.1% | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 24.7% | +6.8% |
| 2009 | 25.3% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 23.6% | -6.6% |
| 2011 | 24.2% | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 24.6% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 24.7% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 24.8% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 24.5% | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 24.2% | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 24.5% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 24.2% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 21.1% | -12.8% |
| 2020 | 19.8% | -6.1% |
| 2021 | 20.7% | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 21.6% | +4.6% |
| 2023 | 22.5% | +4.1% |
| 2024 | 24.0% | +6.5% |
| 2025 | 23.1% | -3.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 20.8% | 17.2% | 23.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.9% | 20.7% | 25.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.0% | 21.1% | 24.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.9% | 19.8% | 24.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 23 Morocco 31.9% compare
- 24 North Macedonia 31.7% compare
- 25 Türkiye 31.7% compare
- 26 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 31.7% compare
- 27 Saudi Arabia 31.6% compare
- 28 Cambodia 31.5% compare
- 29 Mongolia 31.4% compare
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 4.54 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 246.12 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (constant 2015 US$) 4.68 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 420.94 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2516 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 7.79 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 1.12 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per capita 407.9 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), annual growth rate 8.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.1718 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gross capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Gross capital formation in Sub-Saharan Africa was 23.1% in 2025, according to Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks.
- What is the highest gross capital formation recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 25.3% in 2009.
- What is the lowest gross capital formation recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.2% in 1997.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for gross capital formation?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 26th out of 43 groups with data for 2025.
- Is gross capital formation rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks, published as part of Gross capital formation (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Gross capital formation includes acquisitions less disposals of produced assets for purposes of fixed capital formation, inventories or valuables. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.