Decline of a state: the DRC fourth poorest country in the world, in the IMF-Global Finance ranking
Global Finance, an American magazine known for its rankings of the best financial institutions in the world, recently published the ranking of countries on the planet according to their wealth.
These awards and rankings have become a standard of excellence throughout the world, and are recognized for their reliability.
In the latest ranking drawn up with macroeconomic data from the IMF, the DRC has the sad privilege of appearing in the top 5 of the poorest countries in the world.
To develop its ranking, Global Finance based itself on GDP per capita as shown in a recent IMF report.
Although GDP per capita is often considered the standard metric for measuring the wealth of nations, it has been compensated for by differences in the cost of living and inflation rates, using, not the constant dollar, but the dollar in purchasing power parity (PPP).
Which, according to the magazine, makes it possible to better assess the purchasing power of an individual in a given country.
“It is difficult to identify a single cause of long-term poverty.
Corrupt governments can turn a very rich nation into a poor nation,” writes Global Finance in its report.
Who adds: “The same goes for a history of exploitative colonization, weakness of the rule of law, war and social unrest, difficult climatic conditions or hostile and aggressive neighbors.
The weaknesses are getting worse: a country in debt will not be able to afford good schools, and a poorly educated workforce will limit capacity.”
Deteriorating outlook
According to the report, the figures are striking: in the 10 richest countries in the world, the average annual purchasing power per capita is more than $110,000, in the 10 poorest countries, it is less than $1,500.
The worst part is that poverty is often likely to lead to more poverty.
In the latest edition of the World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) explains how poor countries could fall deeper into difficulties: "Decline in growth implies a deterioration in prospects or living standards and a reduction of global poverty.
A persistent low growth environment, combined with high interest rates, would threaten debt sustainability and could fuel social tensions and hamper the green transition. Furthermore, expectations of lower growth may discourage investments in capital and technology and thus, in part, become self-fulfilling.
Out of 190 countries studied, the top 10 richest countries in the world are dominated this year by a regular: the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which shows 134,743 dollars per inhabitant.
It is followed by Macau (134,141 USD per capita), an autonomous region on the south coast of mainland China, in the Pearl River Delta, opposite Hong Kong, which lived under Portuguese supervision until 1999. then: Ireland (133,895 USD), Singapore (133,737), Qatar (112,283 USD), United Arab Emirates (96,846 USD), Switzerland (91,932 USD), the United States (85,373 USD), and Norway (82,832 USD).
In this ranking, Africa is generally at the bottom of the table, even if some countries manage to do well. On the continent, the richest of all is, for several consecutive years, the Republic of Seychelles, 54th place in the world. , with 43,151 USD per capita.
A real feat, because this Indian Ocean country is ahead of countries like Greece, Latvia and Russia.
Then come Mauritius, 65th place in the world (32,094 USD), Libya, 73rd in the world (26,456 USD), Botswana, 88th place in the world (20,097 USD), Gabon, 92nd place in the world (19,452 USD), Equatorial Guinea, 96th in the world (18,378 USD) , Egypt, 98th place in the world (17,614 USD), South Africa, 106th place in the world (16,424 USD), Tunisia, 113th place in the world (13,645 USD), and the incredible Eswatini, ex-Swaziland, often caricatured because of the escapades of its king known for his multi-polygamy, 115th place in the world (12,637 USD).
Ubuesque and predatory governance
On the other hand, Africa is the champion when it comes to appearing in the top ten poorest countries on the planet, with 9 countries out of 10.
Indeed, the ten nations which have the sad privilege of The poorest in the world are: Yemen (1,996 USD per capita), Madagascar (1,979 USD), Liberia (1,882 USD), Malawi (1,712 USD), Niger (1,675 USD), Mozambique (1,649 USD), DRC (1,552 USD), CAR (1,123 USD), Burundi (916 USD), and South Sudan (455 USD).
Despite its multitude of mineral wealth, its extent and the immensity of its arable land, and because of a governance that is both ludicrous and predatory in nearly 64 years of independence, the DRC therefore arrogantly occupies the place of fourth poorest country in the world, surpassed even by non-states like Somalia and Yemen.
It would undoubtedly be recommended that Congolese leaders ask themselves the right questions about the causes of the decline of a country so well endowed with natural resources, in order to develop public policies likely to launch the development of Congo-Kinshasa.
mediacongo