An International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook report published on Tuesday said economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa will slow to 3.6% in 2023 and accelerate to 4.2% in 2024.
The IMF expects a difficult recovery for most of the world’s economies due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.
However, the IMF has estimated that the economic outlook for developing economies is on average stronger than for advanced economies.
According to the IMF, five oil-exporting countries in sub-Saharan Africa, namely Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea, will record a combined growth rate of 3.2% in 2023 and 3% in 2024, except for Equatorial Guinea whose economy is expected to contract by 1.8% in 2023 and 8.2% in 2024.
Senegal is expected to have the highest growth rate in sub-Saharan Africa, at 8.3% in 2023, and 10.6% in 2024. Nigeria is expected to post growth rates of 3.2% and 3% in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
In low-income developing countries, GDP is expected to grow by 5.1%, on average, over the period 2023-2024, but projected per capita income growth is only 2.8% on average over the same period, which is below the average for middle-income economies (3.2%).
The IMF concluded that in the medium term, the growth outlook looks bleaker than it has in recent decades.