President salaries: Zuma vs Africa
Data compiled by media house, Africa Review, shows that South African president Jacob Zuma is the third-highest paid leader on the African continent, earning over 22 times more than the average citizen.
According to the report, Zuma’s salary of $272,000 per annum is only the third-highest presidential payout, behind Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, who earns $610,000, and Moroccan ruler King Mohammed VI, who takes $480,000 per year.
With average earnings of $12,240 per capita, Zuma earns 22.22 times more than the average citizen.
While this pay gap is certainly large, it’s still some ways behind other African nations, which see their heads of state taking home hundreds of times more than the national average.
Cameroon’s Biya comes out on top again, with his pay surpassing the national average of $2,660 by a massive 230 times.
Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, commands the second biggest gap, earning 114 times more than the average citizen.
Sirleaf commands and annual salary of just $90,000, versus the $790 average of her people.
Africa Review’s report noted that the African leaders were ranked according to their salaries, and did not take into account money used from the countries’ coffers for personal use.
Also, many African countries (such as Equatorian Guinea) have poor transparency, making it impossible to determine true pay.
The tables below detail the highest paid presidents in Africa, and the presidents which earn the most relative to their national average.
Africa’s highest paid presidents
# | President | Country | Salary (US$) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Paul Biya | Cameroon | 610 000 |
2 | King Mohammed VI | Morocco | 480 000 |
3 | Jacob Zuma | South Africa | 272 000 |
4 | Jakaya Kikwete | Tanzania | 192 000 |
5 | Abdel Aziz Bouteflika | Algeria | 168 000 |
6 | Teodoro Nguema | Equatorial Guinea | 150 000 |
7 | Uhuru Kenyatta | Kenya | 132 000 |
8 | Ikililou Dhonine | Comoros | 115 000 |
9 | Denis Sassou Nguesso | Congo Republic | 110 000 |
10 | Hage Geingob | Namibia | 110 000 |
11 | Robert Mugabe | Zimbabwe | 108 000 |
12 | Ameenah Gurib Fakim | Mauritius | 104 838 |
13 | Alassane Outtara | Cote D’Ivoire | 100 000 |
14 | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf | Liberia | 90 000 |
15 | Paul Kagame | Rwanda | 85 000 |
Biggest presidental pay gaps in Africa
Notably, Tunisia offers the most level payment gap in Africa between its president, Beji Caid Essebsi who earns $16,400 per year, against a national average of $10,960.
South Africa is ranked 16th for its president-citizen gap, according to the data.
Africa’s salary gaps are significantly larger than those of other world leaders:
Read: Does Zuma deserve his R2.75 million salary?
# | Country | President Salary (US$) | Average GNI (US$) | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cameroon | 610 000 | 2 660 | 229.32 |
2 | Liberia | 90 000 | 790 | 113.92 |
3 | Tanzania | 192 000 | 1 750 | 109.71 |
4 | Malawi | 75 348 | 750 | 100.46 |
5 | DR Congo | 52 197 | 680 | 76.76 |
6 | Comoros | 115 000 | 1 560 | 73.72 |
7 | Zimbabwe | 108 000 | 1 560 | 69.23 |
8 | Morocco | 480 000 | 7 000 | 68.57 |
9 | Rwanda | 85 000 | 1 430 | 59.44 |
10 | Kenya | 132 000 | 2 250 | 58.67 |
11 | Mozambique | 47 500 | 1 040 | 45.67 |
12 | Mali | 69 609 | 1 540 | 45.20 |
13 | Cote D’Ivoire | 100 000 | 2 900 | 34.48 |
14 | Ethiopia | 44 472 | 1 350 | 32.94 |
15 | Congo Republic | 110 000 | 4 720 | 23.31 |
More on government salaries
Zuma’s new R2.7 million salary approved