Average Incomes More Than Doubled in Nine African Countries Over a Generation

Average incomes have more than doubled since 1990 in nine African countries, according to data from Our World in Data reported by MyJoyOnline.

The group includes Ghana, Mauritius, Egypt, Cabo Verde, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique. Ghana's average income rose from about 1,850 international dollars in 1990 to about 7,360 in 2025, after adjusting for inflation and differences in purchasing power.

The measure is GDP per person, not a report of what every household earns. Even so, the longer view is meaningful: all nine countries also saw declines in extreme poverty and child mortality alongside rising average incomes, according to the report.

The figures do not erase the economic problems people still face. They do show that change can accumulate over decades, and that progress is possible even when the path is uneven.