Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic outlook remains bleak amid an elusive growth recovery. According to the latest World Bank Africa’s Pulse report, rising instability, weak growth in the region’s largest economies, and lingering uncertainty in the global economy are dragging down growth prospects in the region.
Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to decelerate to 2.5% in 2023, from 3.6% in 2022. South Africa’s GDP is expected to only grow by 0.5% in 2023 as energy and transportation bottlenecks continue to bite. Nigeria and Angola are projected to grow at 2.9% and 1.3% respectively, due to lower international prices and currency pressures affecting oil and non-oil activity. Increased conflict and violence in the region weigh on economic activity, and this rising fragility may be exacerbated by climatic shocks. In Sudan, economic activity is expected to contract by 12% because of the internal conflict which is halting production, destroying human capital, and crippling state capacity.
In per capita terms, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has not increased since 2015. In fact, the region is projected to contract at an annual average rate per capita of 0.1% over 2015-2025, thus potentially marking a lost decade of growth in the aftermath of the 2014-15 plunge in commodity prices.
At this online seminar, Cesar Calderon, Lead Economist, Office of the Chief Economist for Africa Region, explained the main points of the report.
Date/Time:
8am-9am, Wednesday November 8, 2023 (JST)
*Due to the speaker's medical condition, this event has been postponed from October 27 to November 8.
Speaker:
Cesar Calderon
Lead Economist, Office of the Chief Economist for Africa Region, World Bank
Presentation Material:
Africa’s Pulse: An Analysis of Issues Shaping Africa’s Economic Future (PDF)