The purchasing power of local Kenyans triumphs over that of many other African countries according to a report that recently ranked the world's richest countries.
Global Finance, a monthly magazine that prides itself on accurate financial rankings, placed Kenya at position 142 of all rich countries across the world, ahead of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and Rwanda, an investment-forward nation.
According to the ranking Kenya's per capita Gross Domestic Product's purchasing power parity (PPP) showed that each Kenyan, on average, is worth Ksh1.06 million (USD6,577).
The organisation explained that to arrive at the PPP, it does not solely rely on the Gross Domestic Product but converts the value of the products to USD for a uniform per capita net-worth determination.
"However, only when taking into account inflation rates and the cost of local goods and services can we get a more accurate picture of a nation’s average standard of living, the resulting figure is what is called purchasing power parity (PPP), often expressed international dollars to allow comparisons between different countries," the magazine described.
In comparison, Nigeria was ranked at position 145, three spots below Kenya with a GDP-PPP per capita of Ksh995,914.
Uganda, on the other hand, was ranked 167 with a GDP-PPP per capita of Ksh521,931.
South Sudan, Malawi, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo ranked among the bottom 10. Globally, 12 countries that formed the bottom 20 poorest countries were from the African continent.
On the flipside, the rich country according to the ranking is Luxembourg with a GDP-PPP per capita of Ksh23 million followed by Ireland (Ksh22 million), Singapore (Ksh21.5 million), Qatar (Ksh18.5 million) and Macao SAR (Ksh15.9 million).
"Some very small and very rich countries - like San Marino, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Singapore - benefit from having sophisticated financial sectors and tax regimes that attract foreign investment, professional talent and large bank deposits. Others like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have large reserves of hydrocarbons or other lucrative natural resources," the magazine explained.
"Shimmering casinos and hordes of tourists are good for business too. Asia’s gambling haven Macao remains one of the most affluent states in the world despite having endured almost three years of intermittent lockdowns and pandemic-related travel restrictions."
Previously, President William Ruto lamented that previous regimes ruined Kenya's development trajectory for first-world status.
In the 1990s, Kenya was ranked a third-world country alongside Singapore which has since catapulted to first world and among the top 10 richest worldwide.
