By Hagos Gebreamlak
Claim: People on social media claimed that Ethiopia’s GDP reached 192 billion USD and surpassed Morocco to become the fifth-largest economy in Africa.
Verdict: MFC rated the claim as Partly True.
A claim circulated on social media that Ethiopia’s GDP has reached 192 billion USD and surpassed Morocco in terms of GDP in 2024. On the other hand, counterclaims were shared casting doubts that the claim that Ethiopia’s GDP reached 192 billion USD surpassing Morocco in 2024 was from reality.
These social media posts emerged after a X (formerly Twitter) account of ‘World of Statistics,’ which has 3.6 million followers, shared a viral post that shows the rank of the GDP of African countries (see the ranking in the below screenshot).
According to the post on Twitter, Ethiopia appeared as the number five largest economy in Africa with a GDP of 192 billion US dollars, and Morocco is ranked sixth with a GDP of 157 billion US dollars. This Twitter post was viewed by 1.5 million people and was shared close to two thousand times.
‘Conflict Zone’, another X account with over 66K followers, stated as a ‘breaking’ news that Ethiopia surpassed Morocco to enter the top five largest economies in Africa. This Twitter post was shared over 200 times and was viewed by over 83K users.
However, counterclaims emerged on social media stating that the claim that Ethiopia’s GDP reached 192 billion USD surpassing Morocco was far from reality.
For instance, a particular Twitter account with the name Nchi yangu nzuri shared a post questioning the claim, saying, “Ethiopia has endless civil wars, in 2020 its GDP was 100 billion dollars, now it is 192 billion dollars? What kind of steroids are they using with their economy? We all need it.” This Twitter post was viewed close to four thousand times.
MFC looked into the latest data from credible international financial organizations such as the IMF and World Bank. These two institutions publish data on countries’ GDP on a timely basis.
According to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, which was published in October 2023, Ethiopia’s GDP was in fact 192 billion USD, and Morocco’s GDP was 157.4 billion USD in the year 2024. According to the same data, Ethiopia’s and Morocco’s GDP in 2023 were respectively 155.8 billion USD and 147.3 billion USD. The year 2023 was the year Ethiopia for the first time surpassed Morocco in terms of GDP, according to the IMF.
The latest data by the World Bank about the GDP of Ethiopia and Morocco is from the year 2022. According to the World Bank, Morocco’s GDP in 2022 was 130.9 billion USD, while Ethiopia’s was 126.8 billion USD.
Therefore, according to the latest data by the IMF, Ethiopia’s GDP in 2024 is 192 billion USD, and Morocco’s is 157.4 billion USD. Therefore, Ethiopia’s GDP is already bigger than that of Morocco, and Ethiopia is ranked the fifth-largest economy in Africa after South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria.
However, according to the IMF data, 2024 is not the year that Ethiopia’s GDP surpassed that of Morocco. Because, Ethiopia already surpassed Morocco in 2023.
Therefore, the claim is rated Partly True.
