South Africa does not have any significant oil deposits. However there is gas on the West Coast towards Namibia
South Africa produces about 60% of its petrol requirements by a unique process of extraction from coal- the company that does this is known as SASOL. The balance of the requirement is petrol refined locally from crude oil imported from African and Middle Easter sources.
Diamonds would be the best answer considering gems. Some of the biggest diamonds in the world were discovered in South Africa and its the 4th largest producer of diamondsBut the answer would differ if you just consider mining because Platinum would be the first answer because South Africa has 90% of the worlds platinum metal.then manganese 80%.....then chrome 73%...then vanadium 45%...then gold at 41%...only crude oil and bauxite are not found here.if you want to read more on this visit http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/sectors/mining.htm
Vehicles (mostly from Australia and Europe, although some commercial vehicles do come from North and South America, and it's not uncommon to see American LHD trucks on South African roads), clothing items, CDs, DVDs, electronics.. essentially, most of what you'd see imported into America or Europe.
Ghana is one of the most important country in west Africa with good resources talking of gold, timbers, cocoa, mineral salt, good water bodies, manganese, diamond and a whole lot of unbelievable tourist site. less before i forget recently crude oil is refined in Ghana, isit not remarkable in the history of west Africa and Africa as a whole... indeed God Has A Nation Ahead...meaning of Ghana.
The answer depends entirely what criteria you use to measure the term "richest", this could mean monetary, natural resources, cultural, heritage etc. Bear in mind that a countries natural resources cannot be realised until they are mined or sold as raw (or refined) products - this is only a measure of potential wealth.Below are a number of varying answers from different contributors, some are based on raw facts others more esoterically.South Africa is the richest country in Africa. It has the biggest economy in Africa, followed by Egypt and then Nigeria, meaning South Africa the richest country in terms of GDP.SA might not be the richest country in terms of GDP percapita but that is not a measurement of a its total wealth. Saying that Mauritius is the richest country in Africa is like saying Luxembourg is the richest country in the world (which is wrong).Finally, although Nigeria is very rich in natural resources, such as oil, it does not come close to the resource wealth of South Africa. Don't forget the huge reserves of gold and platinum. South Africa is sitting on nearly 40% of the worlds platinum reserves.In fact, according to Citigroup, South Africa is the richest countryin the world in terms of natural reserves, with 2.5 trillion dollars worth of resources, followed by Russia and then Australia.It is safe to say that South Africa is the richest country in Africa.AnswerI believe South Africa is the richest economical country in Africa. No debate about that.AnswerIf u talk about resources south Africa is the richest country in Africa and per capita is also south AfricaAnswerI live in South Africa and know that we are def the richest on our continent, the way of life in my country is even better than a heck of a lot of European countries. however, the gap between rich and poor is too big, I am blesses d enough not to be on the poor side.AnswerI'm from Nigeria and I have visited there plenty of times. By the knowing the strong econmy we have and our oil, Nigeria is one the richest country in Africa.AnswerI have checked several sites on GDP per capita. None of these have Nigeria on the top 10 list. For example the CIA government site has this list, refering to African countries: 1.Mauritius 2.South Africa 3.Botswana 4.Seychelles 5.NamibiaAnsweri am from nigeria, i believe south Africa is the richest country in Africa when it comes to money.but in that of their economy the rate of poor citizens in nigeria could be said to be 90%.AnswerI'M FROM NIGERIA AND I'M VERY SURE THAT NIGERIA IS THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN AFRICA BECOUSE 0F OIL AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE IT EXPORTS. IT'S GDP IS 32 BILLION DOLLAR ANUALLY. NO OTHER COUNTRY IS AS RICH AS THAT IN AFRICA.AnswerSouth Africa is the richest. This country is the dynamo of Africa, it has a strong economy and has the highest GDP in Africa. Nigeria could have a strong econmy but the standard of living for the nigerians should also be taken into account. SA is the richest and wealthiest country in Africa.AnswerIt is very easy to answer this question. Go to the CIA fact book (see related link) were the US government keeps data on all countries in the world. Go to any African country you want and look at GDP per capita. This is the amount of money spent on the average person in the country during 1 year. For comparision, in 2005 The USA was 41,000 dollars, France was 30,000 dollars, China was 6,200 dollars. Africa is another story. Nigeria was only 1000 dollars. Kenya was 1,200 dollars. Sychelles 7,800. Botswana 10,100. South Africa 11,900. Mauritius was the highest at 13,300. Mauritius also has a high life expectancy, high literacy rate, low Aids rate, low birth rate, etc that is very unusual for an African country. Hopefully other African countries will follow the lead of Mauritius and get out of poverty as well. Remember, Maurtius was a very poor country only one generation ago. If they can do it, so can the rest of Africa!!!!AnswerI know nigeria is the richest country in Africa, no dout crude oil and LNG is the world most important products and Nigeria has an abundance of that. The reason why USA and Britain are currently at war with Iraq, U crazy!!!AnswerMauritius is the richest country in Africa!Answeri think Botswana is the richest African county. even though the country has a small economy it can sustain its people by provididng them with free education from primary to tertiary level. how many African countries can afford to do that?AnswerIf you just Google this you'll find that South Africa is by far the richest African nation, followed at a distance by Algeria and then Egypt. Mauritius has the highest per capita income, but its GDP is comparatively small.AnswerSouth Africa has both the military might and is the most industrilised country in Africa. Oil alone does not make a country rich but how its resources are used i.e Saudi Arabia , Kuwait, Iraq etc but these nations are not rich by any means.South Africa infractructure supports most of the other African countries Durban port supplies Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland ect. Big corps like Eskom supply Electrity and our many nucleur facilities.Other huge SA coprs like MTN , DSTV and many others supply telecoms especially to Nigeria.So all facts put on the table South Africa is where it is because of help of the British but mostly the USA for providing technology back in the day befor embargoes happened.South Africa is the richest country in Africa. Look go to any websites...Nigeria is maybe one of the richest. Because of our Oil and Gold we are simply the richest country in Africa. Nigeria is not! But we are not boasting we love all Africa and we are in it together!AnswerAm Ghana and have been to both South Africa before..Even though Nigeria do not live a high life in the Africa,They are very poor...Below is the list of the top 10 according to CIA world factbook.Country GDP - per capita:1 Equatorial Guinea $ 50,2002 Mauritius $ 13,5003 South Africa $ 13,0004 Libya $12,7005 Botswana $11,4006 Tunisia $8,6007 Seychelles $7,8008 Algeria $ 7,7009 Namibia $ 7,40010 Gabon $ 7,200============================================================The richest countries based on GDP, a country's productivity. The GDP is a measure of if all the goods and services of country where divided it people what is the average dollar amount of goods and services they produce. According to this metric Equatorial Guinea is #1, the people produce an average of $50,200 of goods per person.
Nigeria has significant crude oil reserves, being one of the top oil-producing countries in Africa.
by converting coal into petroleum when there was an embargo placed on south Africa during the apartheid
Crude oil is found in various African countries, with Nigeria, Angola, and Algeria being significant producers. Nigeria has the largest proven reserves in Africa, followed by Angola. Other countries like Libya, Egypt, and Equatorial Guinea also have significant oil reserves.
Brent crude oil is a light crude from the North sea. It is used as an indicator of global oil prices. It is however unlikely that South Africa buys any Brent crude because the travel distance is great and that increases the cost of supplying the oil. South Africas oil is more likely to come from closer suppliers, like Angola, Nigeria and the Middle East.
various countries like Iran, and other middle eastern countries.
South Africa produces about 60% of its petrol requirements by a unique process of extraction from coal- the company that does this is known as SASOL. The balance of the requirement is petrol refined locally from crude oil imported from African and Middle Easter sources.
underground
Countries with significant oil deposits include Saudi Arabia, the United States, Russia, Canada, China, Iraq, Brazil, and Venezuela. These countries have substantial reserves of crude oil that contribute to global oil production and supply.
The top five crude oil producing countries are the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Canada, and China. These countries account for a significant portion of global crude oil production.
Because Australian crude is not suitable for some of the products that come from crude oil.
Ecuador is the leading exporter of crude oil in South America.
Africa