Over the last year, Africa recorded a 3.4% growth, the African Development Bank (AfDB) indicated in the 2020 African Economic Outlook published yesterday. This growth, which is roughly at the same level as that estimated by the institution for 2018, was driven by an increase in exports, particularly from countries producing raw materials which benefited from a recovery in oil prices during the year.

According to the report, “In 2019, for the first time in a decade, investment expenditure, rather than consumption, accounted for over 50% of GDP growth.” This figure is more than private consumption, which in recent years has accounted for a large share of GDP growth in African countries.

At the sub-regional level, East Africa recorded the highest growth (5%), followed by North Africa (4.1%) and West Africa (3.7%). Central Africa recorded 3.2%, while the weakest performance was achieved by Southern Africa with 0.7% (against 1.2% in 2018), due in particular to the slowdown of the South African economy, coupled with the recent ravages of Hurricanes Idai and Kenneth.

“Although stable, this rate (of growth in 2019, editor's note) is below the ten-year average of 5% for the region. The slower than expected growth is partly due to the moderate expansion of the continent’s “big five” - Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa- whose joint growth was an average rate of 3.1 percent, compared with the average of 4.0 percent for the rest of the continent,” the AfDB said.

It should be noted that for 2020, the Bank expects Africa’s growth to reach 3.9% and 4.1% in 2021.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou