World Bank expects 4.9% strong economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa end of 2013
Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is forecasted to grow 4.9% by end of 2013, according to the World Bank’s latest Africa’s Pulse released October 7, 2013.
The report which analyses issues shaping Africa’s economic prospects, indicated that economies in the region continue to remain strong.
It said “Almost a third of countries in the region are growing at 6% and more, and African countries are now routinely among the fastest-growing countries in the world.”
The World Bank stated that GDP growth in Africa will rise to 5.3% in 2014 and 5.5% in 2015 on rising private investment and remittances.
Strong government investments and higher production in the mineral resources, agriculture and service sectors are also supporting the bulk of the economic growth, it added.
As Africa’s growth rates continue to surge with the region increasingly a magnet for investment and tourism, Africa’s Pulse noted that poverty and inequality remain unacceptably high and the pace of reduction unacceptably slow.
The report suggested that most of the world’s poor people by 2030 will live in Africa as almost one out of every two Africans lives in extreme poverty today.
Optimistically, that rate will fall to between 16% and 30% by 2030, the report added.
“Africa’s growth has not been as powerful in reducing poverty as it could have been because of the high levels of inequality,” said Francisco Ferreira, Deputy Regional Chief Economist, World Bank Africa Region.
According to Ferreira, growth with equity is possible, but it requires a decline in inequality in both outcomes and opportunities.
World Bank’s Vice President for Africa, Makhtar Diop said sustaining Africa’s strong growth over the longer term while significantly reducing poverty and strengthening people‘s resilience to adversity may prove difficult because of the many internal and external uncertainties African countries face.
Following the global financial crunch and recurring climatic volatility on the continent, the Africa’s Pulse noted a growing number of African countries are setting up social safety nets to protect the health and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people during periods of adversity.
By Ekow Quandzie