Which country in Africa has the most wealth? South Africa! Which country has the richest people? Mauritius

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According to a data from the Mauritian "Asian-African Bank" and the wealth intelligence company "New World Wealth", Mauritius is the richest country in Africa in terms of per capita wealth.

Mauritius has a population of around 1.6 million in 2020, compared with 59.31 million in South Africa. Mauritius has a per capita wealth of US$30,000 (about R433,000), far more than South Africa, which ranks second at US$11,000 (about R158,840) per capita.

However, according to a separate report by the Asian-African Bank and New World Wealth, the "big five" wealth markets in Africa are South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya, if not calculated per capita. Together, these five countries account for more than 50 per cent of Africa's total wealth.

"Wealth" is defined as a person's net worth. According to the latest report from Afro-Asian Bank and New World Wealth, this includes all of their assets (property, cash, stocks, business interests) minus any liabilities.

The Mauritius Wealth per Capita Report predicts that wealth growth in Mauritius will grow by 80% by 2030, making it one of the five fastest growing high-income markets in the world during this period, along with Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Malta.

In addition to the large number of high-income individuals (wealthiers: wealthiers of more than $1 million – around R14.44 million) who have moved to Mauritius over the past decade, the growing economy has enabled more locals to enter this wealth class. Mauritius now has about 4,400 rich people, compared to 2,500 rich people a decade ago. The report predicts that Mauritius could have more than 7,800 high-income earners by 2030.

Among the reasons why Mauritius ranks first in Africa, as identified in the report, is ease of doing business. For example, in the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report, Mauritius ranked first in Africa and 13th globally. The World Bank officially classified Mauritius as a high-income country in July 2020.

Another reason is that low taxes, including no inheritance tax or capital gains tax, make the island attractive to retirees.

Security is one of the main drivers of wealth growth in Mauritius, the report said. New World Fortune ranks it as the safest country in Africa, alongside Namibia and Botswana.

One trend identified in the report is that in Mauritius, estates and villas are very popular, especially among wealthy expats. Luxury manor house apartments cost up to $6,000 per square metre, similar to prices in Cape Town's expensive Atlantic coasts of Clifton and Bantry Bay. (Original title: Which country in Africa has the most wealth? South Africa! Which country has the richest people? Mauritius! ）