Posted on 07/09/2010 12:59:09 PM PDT by Borges
20) Republic of Haiti
*Population: 9.2 million
*GDP (ppp): $11.5 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $1,338
The poorest nation outside of the African continent, Haiti has been beset by natural disasters, poor health conditions, drought and famine. The country experienced some of its worst years under the 30-year rule of physician and brutal dictator Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, who was succeeded by his son, “Baby Doc” Jean-Claude. Under the rule of these men, Haiti experienced a massive brain drain, which it is still recovering from. The recent 7.0 earthquake in Port-au-Prince has not helped matters.
19) Burkina Faso
*Population: 16.2 million
*GDP (ppp): $17.7 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $1,304
The infrastructure of this west African nation has been plagued by frequent droughts and several coups since the 1980s. This country’s main export is cotton, which due partly to these intense droughts and heavy fluctuations in the industry, has been an unreliable cash crop.
18) Federal Republic Of Nepal
*Population: 28.9 million
*GDP (ppp): $31.5 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $1,205
Land-locked and isolated, one-third of Nepal’s GDP comes from small-time agriculture. Like Burkina Faso, the country has experienced much political instability over the past few decades. While the nation has significant potential for the development of a hydroelectric power infrastructure, this instability, coupled with the nation’s propensity for natural disasters, has left this resource largely untapped.
17) Republic Of Uganda
*Population: 33.4 million
*GDP (ppp): $36.9 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $1,195
Uganda has a great deal of potential with its vast natural resources, particularly precious metals and minerals. However, more than 80% of the population is employed in agriculture. The underdevelopment of a mining infrastructure, as well as a general lack of industrialization, is largely due to large-scale civil unrest and international conflict with neighboring countries, including this list’s number one: the Democratic Republic of Congo.
16) Republic Of Mali
*Population: 13.7 million
*GDP (ppp): $15 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $1,172
Another agriculture-heavy region, densely populated Mali relies heavily on its tobacco industry, which makes up at least 50% of total exports. While the government has attempted to develop an industrial infrastructure aided by the IMF, the UN, and several other philanthropic organizations, Mali has experienced major setbacks. In particular, the unpredictable and unreliable availability of utilities, including electricity, water and telecommunications has deterred foreign investors and hampered development.
15) Republic Of Rwanda
*Population: 11,055,976
*GDP (ppp): $9.9 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $1,149
Rwanda is one of the countries on this list which shows signs of hope. The genocide in 1994 left the nation’s infrastructure in ruins and its people in the depths of poverty. Like several others on this list, this nation is rich in minerals. Efforts to develop this resource, aided by the international perception of increased stability after nearly 1 million deaths during the genocid , have caused mineral production to replace coffee and tea as Rwanda’s main export.
14) Republic Of Guinea
*Population: 10.3 million
*GDP (ppp): $10.3 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $991
Guinea retains significant potential in agricultural and mineral resources, as well as hydroelectric development, but a wide range of issues, including a literacy rate of less than 30% and political uncertainty, has left these industries underdeveloped.
13) Federal Democratic Republic Of Ethiopia
*Population: 88 million
*GDP (ppp): $70.9 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $954
One of the largest and poorest of the African nations, Ethiopia relies heavily on agricultural exports (particularly coffee) to sustain GDP. Heavy droughts, poor farming practices, price fluctuations, and a two-year war with Eritrea hurt the industry, causing many coffee growers to switch to other crops. In 2005, the IMF forgave the country’s debt, which has led to improved conditions.
12) Republic Of Mozambique
*Population: 22 million
*GDP (ppp): $18.6 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $933
Since becoming independent in 1975, Mozambique has struggled to bring itself out of extreme poverty. Working against massive foreign debt with the aid of international organizations, the nation has managed to garner some attention from investors and has developed a sizable aluminum industry. The growth and export potential of the aluminum industry has been hampered by a sharp drop in the price of the metal since the global economic recession.
11) Republic Of Madagascar
*Population: 21.3 million
*GDP (ppp): $19.7 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $932
Until 1990, Madagascar had a socialist-oriented government, which was replaced by one which has relied heavily on the IMF for economic guidance. A burgeoning tourism industry has developed, but several political crises, as well as the global recession, have hurt the nation’s best hope for growth in the past few years.
Read more: The Twenty Poorest Nations In The World - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2010/07/06/the-twenty-poorest-nations-in-the-world/#ixzz0tDVMddbs
10. Republic Of Malawi
*Population: 15.4 million
*GDP (ppp): $11.3 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $884
Although there have been slight improvements since the 2005 election of President Mutharika, high levels of poverty, HIV/Aids and corruption continue to burden Malawi, one of the world’s most densely populated and least developed countries. In addition, the overuse of agricultural land – the nation’s primary natural resource – has contributed to over half of the Malawian population living below the poverty line. There are plans for exploiting the country’s uranium reserves.
9. Togolese Republic (Togo)
*Population: 6.2 million
*GDP (ppp): $5.3 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $826
Experiencing ongoing political unrest since gaining independence from France in 1960, Togo is considered to be one of the world’s poorest countries. Led by the universally condemned President Faure Gnassingbe, son of the corrupt political leader Gnassingbe Eyadema, Togo has only recently begun to rebuild its relationship with the international community after years of human rights violations. With help from the World Bank and the IMF, Togo’s government has plans to work to improve economic growth through increased privatization, government transparency, and support from foreign donors.
8. Republic Of Sierra Leone
*Population: 5.2 million
*GDP (ppp): $4.3 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $759
Although rich in minerals and agricultural resources, Sierra Leone suffered a ten-year war, which ended in 2002. Poverty and unemployment remain great hurdles for the recovering nation. The export of diamonds, often called “blood diamonds,” benefits only a small minority of the country. For much of the general population, peace and prosperity seem unattainable.
7. Central African Republic
*Population: 4.8 million
*GDP (ppp): $3.2 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $745
A site of constant political turmoil, the CAR has undergone three decades of bumbling military dictatorships , a decade of unruly civilian government, and an unstable transitional government established by a military coup. All of this has happened since gaining independence from France in 1960. There is great potential for economic growth within CAR’s timber and diamond industries, however years of corruption and political instability have undermined this progress.
6. Republic Of Niger
*Population: 15.9 million
*GDP (ppp): $10.1 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $719
Featuring an arid climate which suffers from drought cycles and desertification, Niger suffers from a stifled economy that is consistently undercut by price fluctuations in uranium, the country’s primary export. These facts, in addition to Niger’s prolonged history of post-independence military rule, keep the nation as one of the poorest in the world, devastated by disease and corruption.
5. State Of Eritrea
*Population: 5.8 million
*GDP (ppp): $3.7 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $679
Having only gained its independence from Ethiopia 17 years ago, Eritrea has faced many problems. Problems that arise from its position as a small, underdeveloped country that continues to experience military conflict since its sovereignty. The country’s single party government, run by the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, maintains total control over the economy through military force and the expansion of government-owned businesses.
4. Republic Of Liberia
*Population: 3.7 million
*GDP (ppp): $1.4 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $424
As a result of years of civil war and a cycle of incompetent government administrations, Liberia has suffered extensive economic hardships since a 1980 military coup led by Samuel Doe. Fortunately, an abundance of water, timber, and mineral resources offer a chance for salvation for to the nation’s war-ravaged infrastructure.
3. Republic Of Burundi
*Population: 9.8 million
*GDP (ppp): $3 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $400
Having recently emerged from a civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi factions, Burundi’s economy faces many challenges. It is landlocked, lacking in resources, largely uneducated (only one in two children attend school), and one in every fifteen adults has HIV/Aids. Although recent political stability has proven beneficial, poverty remains extremely prominent.
2) Republic Of Zimbabwe
*Population: 11.6 million
*GDP (ppp): $332 MILLION (note: whoa!)
*$GDP Per Capita: $354
One of, if not the poorest nation in the world, Zimbabwe’s economy has suffered from war with the Democratic Republic of Congo and hyperinflation as a result of the overprinting of currency. A violent land redistribution campaign has scared away most potential foreign investors.
1) Democratic Republic of Congo
*Population: 70.9 million
*GDP (ppp): $20.6 billion
*$GDP Per Capita: $332
Although rich with economic resources, the Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered from war and corruption since its independence in 1960. Once the second most industrialized country in Africa, it now has in the lowest GDP per capita in the world. Lack of infrastructure and the flight of businesses reflect the effects of what has been termed as Africa’s “world war,” where an estimated three million lives were lost.
Obama is striving to get us in that top 20!
Guess we need to dig up some $$$$ for Africa to level the GLOBAL playing field.
Have you noticed the countries closet to the equator are the least productive and the poorest? I’m not saying the temperature is an excuse.
I have no idea ... .
Back to my point ... look at Mexico. The “siesta” is built into their culture. Yet, there are many legitimate legal citizens in the U.S. that are successful entrenpreurs. Heck even a drug lord is fairly motivated in Mexico to make $$$$.
High heat and humidity, more disease and denser undergrowth — could certainly slow you down!
The math here is suspicious. $332 million divided by 11.6 million is only about $28 per person. The GDP here can't be ppp (purchasing power parity); it must be the actual, uncorrected figure. $28 per person in real cash might be equivalent to $300-400 in purchasing power.
Regards,
The number of illegal immigrants in the USA is greater than the population in each one of the countries named.
Based on those numbers; we have, in fact, been invaded by a foreign force.
I’ve noticed that the poorest countries suffer from marxism, constant revolution, thugocracy, and a rejection of Western Civilisation.
A lack of respect, on the part of government, for the rule of law and the ownership of property is also a huge demotivator.
The drug-lord bypasses the corrupt thugocracy, creates his own law, and enforces at least respect for his property.
Looks like they found the top twenty new potential sites for the UN.
...a kid can dream.
What about air conditioned factories and offices?
I agree and see it happening here ... .
Perhaps that is true as a general trend, but doesn't the equator run through Brazil? Everyone seems to think they are an up and coming country.
Undoubtedly! Zimbabwe, the former rich, modern country of Rhodesia, with good agricultural, educational, medical, banking structures, has become the #1 poverty country in the world in just under three decades. Robert Mugabe was elected--freely, with promises to make the country greater and he has--made it a greater disaster than any other country. ELECTED!--and in this short time has brought the country to poorer than Haiti, and no infrastructure. He has his own goons/thugs and keeps on getting elected in rigged elections.
Parallels, anyone?
vaudine
vaudine
Curse those European overlords!
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