Africans are not poor

 In my previous post i indicated that an average African is not poor. He or she may be richer than an average European or American. I based my argument on the fact that an average household in Africa will own either a few cows, goats, chicken or sheep or a combination of some of these. The African household owns land and a house for accommodation, never mind the type, size and durability of the house. They till the land and feed on their own food and when one of them is seek, they pick a herb and treat the ailment. Once a month they go to the market to buy salt, clothing, soap, firm implements and stationary for school going children. These are the major cost centers for a typical African household. 

Using this information we can compare and contrast with a European  or Asian counter part to establish who among them is richer. Let take an example of the daily basic needs and compare an average African with a Briton.        

Basic needs	Daily Amount need (USD)	Monthly Amount needed (USD)	Total Monthly Expenditure by an Average African (USD)	Total Monthly Expenditure by an Average Briton (USD)
Food	45	1,350	0	1,350
Clothing	100	100	100	100
Accommodation	10	10	10	10
Water	0.03	1	0	1
Salt	0.01	0.3	0.3	0.3
Soap	0.3	8	8	8
Total		1469.3	118.3	1469.3

Based on the above its can be seen that an average African needs only USD 118 a month compared to A Briton who requires USD 1469.3 to survive in the same period 1469.3. Again the figures above have been conservatively used to try and get close to the reality in Africa but in real terms USD 1469.3 may not be enough for a Briton for a month. 

Now let look at what an average African owns versus the Briton.

Assets/income generating activities	Total Assets/income generating activities of an Average African (USD)	Total Assets/income generating activities by an Average Briton (USD)
Land at least 1 Acre	500	0
House	1,000	0
Livestock at least two goats	100	0
Job (An African it would be self-employment)	1000	5,000
Firm final income including subsistence food and surplus sales	1,500	0
Total	4,000	5,000

Again the figures are so conservative. For example, land would cost more than USD 500 and some households have livestock in 1000s of dollars. So is an average African poor compared to the European? My answer is no, considering the expenditure needs of two, the African is much richer.

The Guardian in its article released in 2019, indicates that half of England is owned by less than 1% of its population. The England and Wales Housing Census by Office for National Statistics in 2021 shows that 37.3%  9.3 million do not have own houses, they are renting. These are the ones that this article considers as the average Briton.  Are they any better in terms of incomes than an average African? I say no.