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Nairobi, Kenya | Xinhua | Sub-Saharan African economies are projected to grow between 2.3 and 3.4 percent in 2021 depending on the policy measures adopted by countries in the region and the international community, the World Bank said in a report released on Wednesday.
According to Africa’s Pulse report, the growth forecast is due to the positive impact of a carry-over from the rebound in the second half of 2020 and a more supportive external environment which is offset by the impact on activity of the persistence of social distancing restrictions and the limited scope for additional fiscal support.
The World Bank’s biannual economic analysis for the region, dubbed “COVID-19 and the future of work in Africa: emerging trends in digital technology adoption,” notes that economic activity in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to have contracted by 2.0 percent in 2020 which is the lower end of the forecast range in April last year and less than in some emerging markets and developing economies.
The findings show that sub-Saharan Africa’s recovery is expected to be multi-speed, with significant variation across countries.
“Nigeria, South Africa, and Angola, the region’s three largest economies, are expected to return to growth in 2021, partly owing to higher commodity prices, but the recovery will remain sluggish,” says the analysis.
The reports show that non-resource-intensive countries, such as Cote d’Ivoire and Kenya, and mining-dependent economies, such as Botswana and Guinea, are expected to see robust growth in 2021, driven by a rebound in private consumption and investment as confidence strengthens and exports increase.
The report notes that African countries can speed up their recovery by ramping up their existing efforts to support the economy and people in the near term, especially women, youth and other vulnerable groups.
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Xinhua
