Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic recovery exhibits significant variations, with some subregions outperforming the regional average while others lag behind. The World Bank conveyed this information in its semi-annual report, “Africa’s Pulse,” assessing the continent’s economic performance based on regional dynamics.
According to the report, regions like the East African Community and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) are surpassing the regional average in 2023, while the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and major economies like Nigeria and South Africa are underperforming.
This diversity in growth is closely linked to economic and political stability or instability in different areas, with pockets of high development coexisting with regions of slower growth. Notably, more than three-quarters of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP is generated by its ten largest economies, but seven of them are currently growing below their long-term average rates. Countries like Sudan, Ghana, and Angola are expected to experience slower growth in 2023 compared to their performance from 2001 to 2019.
However, there is optimism for most nations, as the report forecasts an increase in development for the majority of countries in the region, with the projected annual average growth rate for 2024-25 exceeding that of 2023 for 39 out of the 47 countries in the region.
Furthermore, the report highlights a decline in growth for Nigeria, the largest economy in West Africa, from 3.3 percent in 2022 to 2.9 percent in 2023.
Nigeria’s “oil production remains below the OPEC+ quota amid capacity issues and lower international oil prices. Non-oil economic activity—particularly industry and services—still supports growth, although policy actions to remove fuel subsidies and unify the exchange rates might be weighing on these activities in the short term,” the report reads in part.