Gross public investment in Africa

Africa: Gross public investment was 5.6% in 2011. ▼ Falling

Latest (2011)
5.6%
Change on year
down 41.5%
Rank
6th
of 6 groups
All-time high
10.0%
in 1988
All-time low
5.6%
in 2011
Years of data
26
1986–2011

Gross public investment in Africa, 1986–2011

02468101986199820111986: 8.5 % of GDP1987: 8.7 % of GDP1988: 10 % of GDP1989: 8.3 % of GDP1990: 7.8 % of GDP1991: 7 % of GDP1992: 7.2 % of GDP1993: 7.3 % of GDP1994: 7.7 % of GDP1995: 7.2 % of GDP1996: 7.1 % of GDP1997: 6.9 % of GDP1998: 6.8 % of GDP1999: 5.9 % of GDP2000: 5.8 % of GDP2001: 5.6 % of GDP2002: 6.6 % of GDP2003: 6.3 % of GDP2004: 6.8 % of GDP2005: 6.9 % of GDP2006: 7.1 % of GDP2007: 8 % of GDP2008: 8.7 % of GDP2009: 9.4 % of GDP2010: 9.5 % of GDP2011: 5.6 % of GDP

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Africa recorded 5.6% for gross public investment in 2011. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 41.5% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, gross public investment in Africa peaked at 10.0% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 5.6%, in 2011.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.

Gross public investment in Africa, year by year

Annual values for Gross public investment (% of GDP) in Africa, 1986 to 2011.
Year % of GDP Change
1986 8.5%
1987 8.7% +2.8%
1988 10.0% +14.4%
1989 8.3% -17.0%
1990 7.8% -6.0%
1991 7.0% -9.5%
1992 7.2% +2.2%
1993 7.3% +1.7%
1994 7.7% +5.2%
1995 7.2% -6.7%
1996 7.1% -0.5%
1997 6.9% -4.1%
1998 6.8% -0.7%
1999 5.9% -12.7%
2000 5.8% -3.3%
2001 5.6% -2.0%
2002 6.6% +16.8%
2003 6.3% -3.8%
2004 6.8% +6.9%
2005 6.9% +1.3%
2006 7.1% +4.0%
2007 8.0% +12.4%
2008 8.7% +9.0%
2009 9.4% +7.6%
2010 9.5% +1.0%
2011 5.6% -41.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 8.9% 8.3% 10.0% 4
1990s 7.1% 5.9% 7.8% 10
2000s 7.1% 5.6% 9.4% 10
2010s 7.5% 5.6% 9.5% 2

Countries ranked near Africa

  1. 3 Libya 22.0% compare
  2. 4 Ethiopia 18.6% compare
  3. 5 Lesotho 17.3% compare
  4. 6 Congo 15.9% compare
  5. 7 Cape Verde 14.8% compare
  6. 8 Mozambique 13.6% compare
  7. 9 Djibouti 12.2% compare

See the full ranking of 55 places →

More economy & growth data for Africa

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is gross public investment in Africa?
Gross public investment in Africa was 5.6% in 2011, according to World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.
What is the highest gross public investment recorded in Africa?
The highest recorded value was 10.0% in 1988.
What is the lowest gross public investment recorded in Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 5.6% in 2011.
How does Africa rank for gross public investment?
Africa ranks 6th out of 6 groups with data for 2011.
Is gross public investment rising or falling in Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Africa data come from?
The figures come from World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files, published as part of Gross public investment (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Gross public investment in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files. Retrieved 12 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/gross-public-investment-percent-of-gdp/africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Gross public investment (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
55 places, 1,642 data points, 1960–2011
Last refreshed

Gross public investment (see definition below) as a percentage of GDP (%) . Public sectors’ gross domestic fixed investment (gross fixed capital formation) comprises all additions to the stocks of fixed assets (purchases and own-account capital formation), less any sales of second-hand and scrapped fixed assets measured at constant prices, done by government units and non-financial public enterprises. Most outlays by government on military equipment are excluded. According to 1993 SNA are outlays on weapons and equipment with no alternative civil use treated as intermediate consumption, and part of governments consumption expenditure.