Nigeria Loses 47% of Dollar Millionaires Over Decade, Retains Fourth Place in Africa

Nigeria has recorded a 47 per cent decline in its population of dollar millionaires over the past decade. Despite the significant drop in the number of high-net-worth individuals between 2015 and 2025, Nigeria remains Africa's fourth-largest hub for dollar millionaires, with an estimated 7,200 millionaires, 20 centi-millionaires—individuals with investable wealth of at least $100 million—and three billionaires.

The report ranks South Africa as the continent's leading destination for wealthy individuals, with 41,100 dollar millionaires, 112 centi-millionaires and eight billionaires. Egypt follows with 14,800 millionaires, 49 centi-millionaires and seven billionaires.

Morocco occupies third place with 7,500 millionaires, 35 centi-millionaires and four billionaires, narrowly ahead of Nigeria. Kenya rounds out the top five with 6,800 millionaires, although it has no billionaires.

Other countries in the top 10 include Mauritius with 4,800 millionaires, Algeria with 2,700, Ghana with 2,600, Namibia with 2,500 and Ethiopia with 2,400 resident dollar millionaires.

At the lower end of the ranking, Seychelles recorded the smallest millionaire population, with 500 millionaires. However, the island nation still has one billionaire and six centi-millionaires. Mozambique followed with 800 millionaires, while Rwanda and Zambia each recorded 1,000 millionaires. Uganda ranked fifth from the bottom with 1,600 millionaires.

According to the report, differences in wealth creation across African countries reflect varying economic conditions, investment environments and levels of capital market development. It also noted that some countries, including Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, were excluded from the rankings because of insufficient reliable data.

The report suggests that Nigeria's sharp decline in dollar millionaires reflects the impact of prolonged macroeconomic challenges, including currency depreciation, persistent inflation and slow economic growth, all of which have significantly eroded private wealth over the past decade, even as several other African economies demonstrated greater resilience.