Pan-African
Where seven African current accounts stood relative to GDP
Nigeria moved from a current account deficit of 2.05% of GDP in 2019 to a surplus of 7.54% in 2024. Rwanda’s deficit reached 11.96% in 2024. The data show how trade and income flows add up relative to the size of each economy.
Sources checked
2024
Shared scale · -11.96% to 7.54%
2019
Shared scale · -11.96% to 7.54%
The common scale runs from deficit below zero to surplus above zero.
Nigeria crossed from deficit into surplus
Nigeria’s ratio moved from negative 0.53% in 2021 to positive 0.16% in 2022, 1.32% in 2023 and 7.54% in 2024. The 2025 figure was positive 4.83%. The net inflow remained above zero even as its share of national output declined from 2024. Source 1
Kenya and Ethiopia narrowed their deficits by 2024
Kenya’s deficit narrowed from 5.24% of GDP in 2019 to 1.76% in 2024 before moving to 2.12% in 2025. Ethiopia went from 5.47% to 2.53% between 2019 and 2024. The latest Ethiopia observation in the table is 2024. Source 1
Egypt and South Africa took different paths
Egypt’s deficit widened from 3.21% of GDP in 2019 to 5.69% in 2024, then narrowed to 3.82% in 2025. South Africa ran surpluses in 2020 and 2021 and recorded a deficit of 0.64% in 2024. A comparison of two years can miss a change of sign in the intervening years. Source 1
Goods trade is one part of the current account
The balance combines net exports of goods and services, net primary income such as investment income, and net secondary income such as transfers. GDP is the denominator, so changes in the ratio can reflect a movement in the external balance, the size of the economy or both. The government budget uses a separate set of transactions. Source 1 Source 2