Nigeria, other African countries’ economies to grow by 3.4% – World Bank
According to World Bank projections, the growth rate of Nigerian and other African economies is expected to climb from 2.6% in 2023 to 3.4% in 2024 and 3.8% in 2025.
This was revealed by the Washington-based development bank in its Africa’s Pulse Report on Tuesday.
According to the report, increased private consumption and falling inflation are fueling Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic recovery.
However, the report noted that the global economic recovery was still precarious due to unstable economic conditions, mounting debt servicing requirements, a propensity for natural disasters, and increased violence and war.
“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 despite 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 to sustain long-term growth and reduce poverty.
Andrew Dabalen, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, said: “Per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of one per cent is associated with a reduction in the extreme poverty rate of only about one per cent in the region, compared to 2.5 per cent on average in the rest of the world.
“In a context of constrained government budgets, faster poverty reduction will not be achieved through fiscal policy alone.
“It needs to be supported by policies that expand the productive capacity of the private sector to create more and better jobs for all segments of society.”
