As of the end of 2021, there were 68 reporting governments with a total of USD 38.5 trillion in pension fund assets. Pension funds in the OECD region held the majority of these assets, at USD 37.7 trillion.

The report particularly examined pension fund assets in 68 nations or reporting jurisdictions, including 30 non-OECD nations in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa and 38 OECD nations.

With USD 22.6 trillion, the United States had the most assets in pension funds, followed by the UK ($3.6 trillion), Australia ($2.3 trillion), the Netherlands ($2.0 trillion), Canada ($1.7 trillion), Japan ($1.5 trillion), and Switzerland ($1.5 trillion) (USD 1.2 trillion), according to the report. In the OECD region, these five nations collectively owned over 70% of the assets of pension funds.

Pension funds are financial holdings that build money to cover workers’ retirement expenses. Typically, both employees and their employers make contributions to pension funds, particularly in African nations with mandatory pension systems.

Pension fund managers make investments in a variety of asset classes, including stocks, collective investment schemes (CIS), fixed income securities including bonds, treasury bills, and corporate bonds, etc.

Below, are the five African nations with the highest asset growth rates for pension funds relative to their GDP.

1. Namibia: Assets in Namibia’s pension funds increased by 17.6% to $11.8 billion, or 103.0% of the nation’s projected 2021 GDP.
2. Kenya: The asset value of the nation’s pension funds increased by 10.6% to $13.7 billion, representing 12.9% of the GDP of the nation in 2021.
3. Nigeria: The assets of Nigeria’s pension funds increased by 9.1% to $32.6 billion, or 7.6% of the nation’s GDP.
4. Ghana: In 2021, the asset held by the pension fund in Ghana increased by 27.2% to $4.7 billion, or 6.3% of the nation’s GDP.
5. Egypt: The asset held by Egypt’s pension fund increased by 8.0% to $6.2 billion, or 1.5% of the nation’s 2021 GDP.