Africa’s average economic growth in 2023 fell to an estimated 3.1 percent, down from 4.1 percent the previous year, as successive shocks weakened post-pandemic gains, according to a report released by the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Thursday.
The report, African Economic Outlook 2024, attributed the decrease to several factors, including persistently high food and energy prices, weak global demand impacting export performance, climate change and extreme weather events affecting agricultural productivity and power generation, and pockets of political instability and conflict in some African countries.
“Despite the continuing headwinds, 15 countries recorded a growth rate of at least 5 percent in 2023,” the report noted.
It highlighted that while South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria recorded lower economic growth rates, more than half of African countries experienced higher economic growth in 2023 compared to 2022. Six countries—Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Eswatini, Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan—posted gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates of more than 2 percentage points.
Kevin Chika Urama, Chief Economist and Vice President of the bank’s Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, emphasized that despite global challenges testing economies worldwide, the African continent is projected to remain resilient.
He projected that GDP growth for Africa would rise to 3.7 percent in 2024 and 4.3 percent in 2025, as most of the factors weighing on growth in 2023 fade away.
“The projected rebound in Africa’s average growth will be led by East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa,” Urama said.