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Report predicts robust GDP growth in Africa
September 30, 2013, 2:32 am

Countries like South Africa have lagged behind some of their neighbours in GDP growth  [AP]

Countries like South Africa have lagged behind some of their neighbours in GDP growth [AP]

Africa’s GDP growth continues to impress, the African Economic Outlook (AEO) report said Friday, with the continent’s economy expected to grow 4.8 per cent this year and 5.3 per cent in 2014.

The report, which was published in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, focused on “Structural Transformation and Natural Resources’’ and praised African economies for weathering global economic and political crises.

The most resilient economies appear to be in West Africa (6.7 and 7.4 per cent, respectively); the weakest appear to be in North Africa (3.9 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively).

Between 2001 and 2012, fortunes appear to have shifted for some of the traditionally more powerful countries.

Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Angola, for example, are among the 10 fastest African economies while Egypt, South Africa, and Algeria are listed in the 10 slowest-growing economies.

Although the figures may differ, the AEO report predicts overall good health and growth for the continent in line with International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank forecasts.

The IMF said that among the resource rich economies, Nigeria is expected to grow at 7.2 per cent and Mozambique at 8.4 per cent.

In April, an IMF report, World Economic Outlook, predicted that 2013 and 2014 economic activity in Africa will “remain robust”.

However, eurozone risks could dampen potential growth in the region, warned the IMF.

“The main risks to the outlook for sub-Saharan Africa stem from the external environment, although domestic security and political risks should not be discounted,” the IMF said.

Source: Agencies