The World Bank has projected that growth will rebound in African economies from 2.6 per cent in 2023 to 3.4 per cent in 2024 and 3.8 per cent in 2025.
This is contained in a statement issued by the World Bank on its latest Report, released on Tuesday.
The report said increased private consumption and declining inflation were supporting an economic rebound in Sub-Saharan Africa.
It, however, said the recovery remained fragile due to uncertain global economic conditions, growing debt service obligations, frequent natural disasters, and escalating conflict and violence.
“However, this recovery remains tenuous. While inflation is cooling across most economies, falling from a median of 7.1 to 5.1 per cent in 2024, it remains high compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
“Additionally, while growth of public debt is slowing, more than half of African governments grapple with external liquidity problems and face unsustainable debt burdens.
“Overall, the report underscores that in spite of the projected boost in growth, the pace of economic expansion in the region remains below the growth rate of the previous decade (2000–2014).
“This is insufficient to have a significant effect on poverty reduction.
“Moreover, due to multiple factors, including structural inequality, economic growth reduces poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa less than in other regions.”
The report said transformative policies were needed to address deep-rooted inequality, sustain long-term growth, and effectively reduce poverty.
The report highlighted that external resources to meet the gross financing needs of African governments were shrinking, and those available were costlier than they were before the pandemic.
