Cement Net Report: Report on African Cement Market and Development of Chinese Enterprises in Africa

1. Analysis

of the basic situation of Africa (1) Geographical environment

The African continent covers an area of about 30.2 million square kilometers, accounting for 20.4% of the world's total land area. It is the second largest continent in the world. The population of Africa exceeds 1.5 billion, accounting for about one sixth of the world's total population. Geographically, the African continent is divided into 60 countries and regions, including North Africa, East Africa, South Africa, West Africa and Central Africa. North Africa is mainly composed of Egypt, Algeria and other countries; East Africa is composed of Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania and other countries; West Africa is mainly composed of Nigeria, Niger and other countries; Central Africa is mainly composed of Congo and other countries; South Africa is mainly composed of South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique and other countries.

Figure 1: Geographical Location

of the African Continent Source: Cement Big Data Research Institute

(II) Economic Environment

The African continent is the least developed region in the global economy and is relatively backward as a whole, with an annual GDP of about $3 trillion in 2024. It accounts for about 3.1% of the world's total, and its per capita GDP is about 2000 US dollars, far below the global level of more than 10000 US dollars. Since 2013, Africa's GDP growth rate has been between 2% and 5%, slightly higher than global growth rate as a whole. In 2020, affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, Africa's economy experienced a rare -1.8% growth rate. In 2021, Africa's economy recovered strongly, reaching 4.8% in that year, which is the highest growth rate in recent years. From 2022 to 2024, Africa has maintained strong resilience in the economic turmoil, and its growth rate is basically the same as that of the world as a whole. The African Development Bank predicts that Africa's economy will maintain a good momentum of recovery in 2025, with an expected annual growth rate of 4.1%, 0.9 percentage points faster than in 2024, outperforming the world as a whole.

Figure 2: Africa's GDP growth rate is slightly higher than that of the world

Source: Cement Big Data (http://data.ccement.com/)