Top 10 deepest capital markets in Africa right now

Long-term development throughout the continent, financial stability, investor confidence, and economic progress all depend on strengthening this depth.

At its core, market depth guarantees that savings are successfully directed toward profitable investments.

Firms and governments can use extensive equity and bond markets to finance expansion, infrastructure projects, and social development.

Market depth is not only measured by size, but also by the number of tradable assets available.

Across much of the continent, equity markets are still concentrated in a few large firms and sectors, limiting investor choice and increasing concentration risk.

Over the last year, some African exchanges have increased their product offerings with exchange-traded funds, green bonds, sukuk, and infrastructure-linked securities.

However, current data show that Africa still has a long way to go.

According to the OECD Africa Capital Markets Report 2025, African public equity markets would account for just about 0.4% of global market capitalisation and approximately 2.6% of listed companies by the end of 2024.

The continent’s total market capitalization was around one-third of GDP, far lower than the worldwide and emerging-market average.

This small market size limits African economies’ ability to raise long-term capital domestically, increasing reliance on external financing and bank credit.

Nevertheless, some African countries boast market depths that break past the average trends, potentially mitigating effects that may impact most African markets.

With that said, here are the African countries with the strongest market depths in 2025 as per the current Absa Africa Financial Markets Index.