Here is a list of the top 10 poorest countries in the world according to data gathered by the International Monetary Fund and the CIA Wrold Factbook. As you might have guessed 9 out of 10 poorest countries in the world are situated in Africa. The wealth of a country is measured by GDP per capita and it stands for the average value of goods and services a person produced living his country

This post is written thanks to a lot of people reading my article Top 10 richest countries in the world and also wanting to know about the world’s poorest countries. Your support and comments are valuable to me. Thank you!

10. Afghanistan – $800 (GDP per capita)

Afghanistan villagers moving their camp

Afghanistan is probably the only poorest county in the world that doesn’t need any introduction. Thanks to the plane crashes of 9/11 and the subsequent American quest for revenge almost everyone knows of this poor landlocked South Asian country. What many people don’t realize however is that the country that gave birth to the world’s foremost terrorist Osama Bin Laden is actually called the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It is a public secret however that history has never seen Afghanistan lose a war. They might be one of the poorest but they know how to fight. Instead of a traditional army they simply resist with small counter attacks that eventually tire out the enemy.

Over 70% of Afghanis live with less than 2$ a day. To make money a lot of people have gone into drug trafficking. Afghanistan is the worlds largest exporter of heroin. The drug problem in this poor country is so large that a drug test in the Afghanistan police force showed that 17% of the countries police officers had lately used drugs. Even worse – only 30% of the police can read! No wonder Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world.

9. Central African Republic – $754

Women in Central African Republic fixing dinner with their children

As the unoriginal name suggest this former French colony is right in the middle of Africa.  Being among 1 of the poorest countries in the world means that the governmental control of the country is extremely weak. The well-being of the population is entirely dependent on foreign aid and numerous non profit organizations. The very present of aid workers in the country is the largest source of revenue for Central Africans. An estimated 40% of import revenue comes from selling diamonds mined from the countries rich land.

Like other poor African countries in this list the Central African Republic is actually self-sufficient in food but still a lot of people suffer from malnutrition and famine. This is because farm owners rather sell their crops to foreign countries with money than to give it all away cheaply to the fellow countrymen. In 2006 rebel forces not satisfied with the way things were going attacked government forces, leaving another 50 000 people to die of starvation.

8. Sierra Leone – $747

Children carrying water near Freetown, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone  is a poor west African country that has English as its official language. Over the years however the locals have used English to derive their own language called Krio. It uses English vocabulary but the grammar comes from 12 different African languages. As is the case with a lot of the top 10 poorest countries, Sierra Leone is also one of the largest diamond manufacturers of the world. If you have seen the movie Blood Diamond you should know that it is based on Sierra Leone.

Between 1991-2001 about 50 000 people were killed in the countries civil war, leaving the people even poorer than they were before. At least 500 000 people fled to neighboring Guinea and Liberia. While everyone is required to go to school, the shortage of schools means that the law requiring to get an education can not be followed. About 66% of adults are illiterate. The health care system also leaves a lot to complain about. Sierra Leone has one of the highest infant mortality rates and lowest life expectancy in the world. No wonder Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries of the world.

7. Eritrea – $739

A typical wedding ceremony dance in Eritrea

The location of Eritrea gives it an advantage of controlling the sea route through the Suez Canal. This is why Italy made it its colony just a year after the opening of the canal in 1869 and why the British conquered it in 1941. In the present Eritrea has been accused by the USA of having relations with terrorists. In 2009 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Eritrea in supplying weapons to Somalian militant group al-Shabab which is believed to have relations with Al Qaeda.

In history it is known that the Egyptian pharaohs used Eritrea as a source of war elephants. Lately however the elephants are almost wiped out from the country. During 1955 and 2001 no elephants were sighted. It is believed that they have fallen victims to the ongoing wars in Eritrea. The whole country only has 824 schools and 2 universities – unnecessary to say illiteracy is a huge problem. No wonder Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in the world.

6. Niger – $736

People fleeing the poor Niger

Niger is one of the poorest countries in Africa – over 80% of its land is covered by the giant desert of Sahara. While it might seem like a hostile place to live it is actually even worse – ongoing droughts are leading to more desertification. One day the whole Republic of Niger might be swallowed by the mighty desert. Currently most of its terrain is made up of desert plains and sand dunes with some savanna around the  Niger river. Over 5000 years ago the same land was actually covered with fertile grasslands – the desertification has took place in the last 2000 years.

While the country is over twice the size France, it only has less than 10 000 km of roads of which less than 800 km is paved. All the paved roads are inside the cities. There are no paved roads connecting the cities to each other.  Niger is the worlds largest exporter of uranium. Just like other countries in the top 10 poorest countries of the world list, only about 1 in 4 persons have ever attended school. Niger also boasts a small army – it has about 12000 troops and 4 aircrafts .

5. Somalia – $600

Traditional house in poor Somalian village

Unlike many African countries Somalia has never been officially colonized by any country. The efforts of the British Empire were successfully driven back at least 4 times. While Somalia is situated in Eastern Africa it has close ties to the Arab world. As a Muslim country it also belongs to the Arab League. Probably because of its Islamic background Somalia has one of the lowest HIV and Aids infection rates. Somalia’s friendship with the Soviet Union enabled it to build the largest military in Africa – unfortunately it proved ineffective to withhold the civil war that broke out in 1991.

In recent years the poor people of Somalia have found a new way to make money – hijacking international boats and taking the crew and the cargo as hostage. Piracy in Somalia has become so common that when young boys grow up they wish to become pirates because that’s where the money is. International companies are known to pay pirates from 1 to 20 million dollars just to get the ships back. An oil tanker filled with oil can be worth a few hundred million dollars.

4. Burundi – $401

People dancing in Burundi Village

In addition to being one of the poorest countries in the world this small landlocked African country is known for its wars between the inhabiting competing tribes. The reason Burundi is so poor is because they have never really had any peaceful time between the everlasting civil wars. Corruption, poor access to education, and a high percentage of HIV and AIDS are all the things that Burundi is known for. Approximately 80% of Burundians live in poverty and according to the World Food Programme 57% of children under 5 years suffer from chronic malnutrition. 93% of Burundi’s exports revenues come from selling coffee.

According to a study done in 178 countries the people of Burundi have the lowest life satisfaction in the world. As a result of poverty it is almost entirely dependent on foreign aid. No wonder Burundi is the 4th poorest country in the world.

3. Liberia – $379

A rebel in Monrovia, Liberia, keeping watch in front of a house and car full of bullet holes

Liberia is one of the few countries in Africa that have not been colonized by Europe. Instead, Liberia was founded and colonized by the slaves who escaped from America. These slaves made up the elite of the country and they established a government that closely resembled that of the United States of America. In 1980 the president of Liberia was overthrown and a period of instability and civil war followed. After the killings of hundreds of thousands Liberia is in a deep economic crisis. Statistics indicate that about 90% of the population lives below $1.25 a day.

As the 3rd poorest country in the world, Liberia has an unemployment rate of 85%. Just as its neighbor Sierra Leone, Liberia was known for its blood diamonds during the civil war. As a results the United Nations banned diamond exports from the country. Compared to the 7 children each women gives birth to on average – the life expectancy of 44 years seems incredibly short. No wonder Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world!

2. Democratic Republic of the Congo – $334

A child in Congo riding a self made wooden bike

Not to be mixed with the neighboring Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was known as Zaire until 1997. Congo is the largest country in the world that has French as an official language – the population of Congo is about 1 million larger than the population of France (66 million people in Congo vs 65 million in France).  The Second Congo War beginning in 1998 has devastated the country. The war that involves at least 7 foreign armies is the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II – it has already killed 5.4 million people. In Africa the war is called African World War. It is estimated that in 2010 at least 45 000 people in Congo are killed monthly.

Congo is also one of the last places on earth with tribes of cannibals. An Mbuti pygmy testified before the UN that their people were hunted down and eaten like animals by neighboring tribes. Eating other people is a way to survive the famines that is affecting about 67% of the population. Congo is also believed to be the worst place in the world for women – it has the most rapes per women in a year. Locals believe that sleeping with a virgin girl will cure AIDS.

1. Zimbabwe – $0.1

A traditional house in a village in Zimbabwe

Thanks to hyperinflation Zimbabwe has become the poorest country in the world. It used to one of the 10 poorest countries but the 87.9 sextillion percent inflation has left the countries economy into ruins. The inflation worrying the country since 2007 saw the government printing 100 billion dollar bills that were only good enough to buy a few eggs. In August 2008 there was even a time where the government simply decided to take 10 zeroes off of every bank not – simply because they didn’t fit very well. Just 6 months later they removed an additional 12 zeroes. The 87 sextillion percent inflation meant that throughout the year prices kept doubling every 1.1 days. In other words – when an apple would cost 1 dollars on Monday it would already cost 64 dollars on Sunday. In a month the same apple would cost just over 1 billion dollars.

A boy in Zimbabwe going shopping with the equivalant of 3 US dollars

The largest bank note that the government of Zimbabwe released was the 100 trillion dollar bill issued on January 2009. In addition to the economic problems the life expectancy of Zimbabwe is the lowest in the world – 37 years for men and just 34 for women. One of the problems for the early deaths are the 20.1% of the population with HIV and AIDS. The health issues aren’t seeing any improvement – in 2009 3 of the 4 largest hospitals and the countries only medical school was shut down.

For more information about inflation in Zimbabwe check out my post and pictures in my article Inflation in Zimbabwe

Other Notable Poor Countries

• Pakistan – 49th poorest country in the world
• India – 53rd
• Philippines – 55th
• China – 84th
• Russia – 130th

To see the Top 10 richest countries of the world – click here.

Throughout the 2 years I’ve been running Financial Jesus I have probably got a few hundred emails from poor people (at least that’s what they say) in Africa asking for financial assistance.

Usually it goes something like this:

I am poor.

My family is poor.

I think you are rich.

Please give me money.

Just like most other people I just ignore these letters and delete them. I have to confess that there has been an odd email asking for a job or something original that has made me write an answer but I’d have to say – I will never give money to a stranger.

The Question

The question box I have on the website has also got me some questions about people wanting me to give them money – I have simply ignored these requests. Yesterday, however I got a question from Philip Chipeta in Zambia, Africa.

Here is his question:

How can I get financial assistance?

I am a student at the University of Zambia in Southern Africa, poverty is a problem I have!  Please help me out of this by helping me pay for education.

I decided to answer Philip’s question as best as I can – at least the first part of it. Unfortunately I can not give him money to pay for his school – he did not supply me with a way of contacting him or getting the money to him. Here comes my first tip when asking for money:

Unfortunately I have never been to Zambia where Philip lives nor anywhere else in Africa so you should take what I say with a grain of salt and adjust it to your needs as much as necessary.

Getting Financial Assistance for Education

If you want to get financial assistance in order to get through school you can follow the same model I am about to give you. It doesn’t matter if you live in Africa, Asia or America.

Make a list of everyone you can ask for assistance

Make a list of people and companies you can ask for assistance. Include local institutions first since they are likely to care more about you. People on the other side of the world can’t care less about you. If you will write me an email saying that everyone in your country will die if I won’t help  – I will still just delete the email because I don’t care about what happens to a country full of people I have never heard of.

Be sure to add all local rich people to the list. Also add the businessmen of your country that have helped someone in the past. Also add the businessmen who have never helped anyone – you might be there first victim!

Contact all the people and companies that you think can help you

Here are the ways you should contact the people and the companies on the list. From the worst method to best:

1. Write an email
2. Send a fax
3. Write a real letter
4. Go and meet people yourself

When contacting the companies and people who have the power to help you – you should stay professional. Don’t ask for money as the very first thing. Get to know the people deciding over your fate first.

When contacting your target persons in a written form – make sure you don’t do any spelling mistakes. For christ’s sake Philip – your question only had 2 sentences but I had to reword it and correct at least 4 mistakes before I could publish it above. This just doesn’t leave a good impression… Use a spellchecker if you are bad at writing. If you have access to the internet you can download Microsoft Office (I know it’s pirating but hey, when you are dirt poor, what can you do).

Meeting the people who you ask money from in person is your best bet to get help – don’t ask these people for money directly. Instead try to get to know them before. If they have the time – ask them about what they do and show real interest about what they are saying.

I have been a door to door salesman in the USA for 2 summers and after speaking to more than 5000 people – I know this for sure: Nobody cares about you – they only care about themselves. If you show them how awesome they are – they will like you and give you what you need!

What do you offer in return?

It is not a good idea to just ask for money. You have to offer something in return. Nobody cares about you – they will only give you money if it will somehow benefit them.

If it is a company you ask money from – you can promise to come and work for them for a few years after you graduate your school. If it is a person – you can find out if there is something you can help them with. If you look deep enough – you can find a way to help anyone.

Remember the golden rule:

Be an Excellent Student

If you are poor but still somehow manage to attend university you should do your best to become the best. University is your greatest bet at becoming rich. If you will get an excellent education and become the best specialist in what you do – you will be able to work wherever you want. Only a few people in the world are the best in what they do – they are the world’s most sought after specialists!

By being a great student you will most likely be noticed while still in university. It is quite common for exceptional students to start working for the university while still at school. Suck up to your teachers if you can – if they think highly of you they might recommend you as a specialist.

NB! Ask everyone you meet

While looking for financial aid you should never lose faith. When getting turned down for the 200th time you should ask them this:

“If you were in my place right now – what would you do to get the money I need”

Changing your name to more local sounding can significantly help you earn more money.

If you are a foreigner living in a country where you are also looking for a job it could be a good idea to change your name in order to find a job and get a significant boost in your income.

The Survey

In 2009 two Swedish scientists – Mahmood Arai and Peter Skogman Thoursie from the University of Stockholm – conducted a study where they found that immigrants who changed their names to more Swedish-sounding ended up with an average increase of their income of 141%.

The scientists analyzed data from 641 immigrants between the years 1991 and 2000 that had came to Sweden from Asia, Africa and Slavic countries and had also changed their name.

The income of an immigrant was analyzed 3 years before the name change and 3 years after.

The analyze took into account a number of statistical information, including inflation, age and place of residence.

Results of Changing Your Name

Mahmood Arai and Peter Skogman were stunned to see that the results of changing your name had a huge impact already 1 year after the name change took place.

The earnings increase was largest in the group that reported very little or no earnings at all before the name change. It was found that they had a increase in income between 0.5 and 2 years of changing their name. In some cases the increase in income was as high as 1000%.

Why Changing Your Name Can Make You Money

Scientists conducting the study found that changing one’s exotic and foreign sounding name had huge benefits on landing a job interview and thus increasing chances of finding work.

It was found common for employers to sort out job applicants with foreign names just because of the bias they evoked.

The bias toward foreigners was so strong that even smart law abiding people were not called for a job interview just because of their name.

In other words – if you have a foreign sounding name you will have a smaller chance of getting a good job simply because you are not called to the job interview at the first place. It is impossible to leave good impression of yourself when you are not even called to a job interview.

Here is a top 10 list of worlds richest countries according to CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia measured by GDP per capita. For those in the dark – GDP or Gross Domestic Product – is the value of all the goods that a country produces. GDP per capita stands for the value an average person produces.

10. Switzerland – $39,800 (GDP per capita)

This cheese making country is considered to be one of the most neutral countries in the world. During World War 2, people from other European countries deposited their money in the banks of Switzerland, knowing that their money would be safer there than in their home countries. Some well known Swiss companies include Nestle, Logitech, Rolex and Credit Suisse.

9. Equatorial Guinea – $44,100

The Republic of Equatorial Guinea is a country in Central Africa. Most people have never heard of it. This country flew into stardom after 1996 when large oil reserves were found in the nation of only 0,5 million people. While being one of the largest producers of oil in Africa, little has been made to improve the living conditions of the people. Corruption is widespread and ordinary people are mostly living in poverty. The gap between rich and poor is probably the largest in the world.

8. Ireland - $45,600

This member of European Union has been often admired as one of the most modern knowledge economies in the world. Ireland is the largest maker of computer software in the world. A study done by The Economist ranked the Celtic Tiger to have the best quality of life in the world.

7. United States – $46,000

What sets the US apart from most other countries in this list is its size. While most other countries in this list are among the smallest in the world the US has a population of over 300 million and a total land area of 3,79 million square miles (9.83 million sq km). The US is also home to the largest amount of billionaires in the world. It is speculated that as many billionaires live in the US as in the rest of the world.

6. Singapore – $48,900

This tiny country consists of 63 island and some mainland with a total area of only 270 square miles (704 sq km). With Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan it is considered one of the Four Asian Tigers. Singapore has the busiest port in the world and is the 4th largest foreign exchange trading center in the world. Singapore is widely believed to be the most business-friendly economy in the world.

Page 2 – The Top 5 richest countries in the world