The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for Africa is expected to average 3.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent in 2024 and 2025, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said in its latest Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook (MEO) report.

According to a statement on the bank’s website, this is higher than the projected global averages of 2.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent.

According to the report, the continent is set to remain the second-fastest-growing region after Asia.

“The top 11 African countries projected to experience strong economic performance forecast are Niger (11.2 per cent), Senegal (8.2 per cent), Libya (7.9 per cent) and Rwanda (7.2 per cent).”

“Others are Côte d’Ivoire at 6.8 per cent, Ethiopia at 6.7 per cent, Benin at 6.4 per cent, Djibouti at 6.2 per cent, Tanzania at 6.1 per cent, Togo six per cent, and Uganda at six per cent” the report said.

It quoted Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB’s president, as saying, “In spite of the challenging global and regional economic environment, 15 African countries have posted output expansions of more than five per cent.”

Mr Adesina called for larger pools of financing and several policy interventions to boost Africa’s growth further.

Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook is a biannual publication released in the first and third quarters of each year.

The MEO report provides an up-to-date, evidence-based assessment of the continent’s recent macroeconomic performance and short-to-medium-term outlook amid dynamic global economic developments.

Mr Adesina said the latest report called for cautious optimism given the challenges posed by global and regional risks.

He listed the risks to include rising geopolitical tensions, increased regional conflicts, and political instability, which could disrupt trade and investment flows and perpetuate inflationary pressures.

According to Mr Adesina, fiscal deficits have improved, as faster-than-expected recovery from the pandemic helped shore up revenue.

“This has led to a stabilisation of the average fiscal deficit at 4.9 per cent in 2023, like 2022, but significantly less than the 6.9 per cent average fiscal deficit of 2020.

“The stabilisation is also due to the fiscal consolidation measures, especially in countries with elevated risks of debt distress,” he stated.

The AfDB boss said that with the global economy mired in uncertainty, the fiscal positions of the African continent would continue to be vulnerable to global shocks.

“The report shows that the medium-term growth outlook for the continent’s five regions is slowly improving, a pointer to the continued resilience of Africa’s economies,” said Mr Adesina.

Presenting key findings of the report, the AfDB’s chief economist and vice president, Kevin Urama, said growth in Africa’s top-performing economies had benefitted from various factors.

Mr Urama said the factors include declining commodity dependence through economic diversification, increasing stra­tegic investment in key growth sectors, rising both public and private consumption, and positive developments in key export markets.

“Africa’s economic growth is projected to regain moderate strength as long as the global economy remains resilient, disinflation continues, investment in infrastructure projects remains buoyant, and progress is sustained on debt restructuring and fiscal consolidation,” he said.

On his part, Albert Muchanga, the Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, African Union Commission, said the future of Africa rested on economic integration.

He said the MEO forecast and recommendations would be made available to African heads of state, as it would be useful when the African Union makes its proposals to the G20- an informal gathering of the world’s largest economies to which the union was admitted in 2023.

“The improved growth figure for 2024 reflects concerted efforts by the continent’s policymakers to drive economic diversification strategies focused on increased investment in key growth sectors,’’ Mr Muchanga said.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mthuli Ncube, described the report as being “on point” and consistent with the reality in his country.

Mr Ncube said it was useful for economic planning across Africa and urged AfDB to continue its thoughtful leadership to help policymakers build resilience to withstand shocks and drive growth.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Sachs, the director of the Centre for Sustainable Development, Columbia University, said about 41 countries across the continent would, in 2024, achieve an economic growth rate of 3.8 per cent.

(NAN)