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· Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to reverse the economic contraction next year as countries in the region may begin to ease movement restrictions, despite the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic still at large , according to the World Bank.
· 40 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty, negating five years of gains fighting poverty, the multilateral bank said in its report
· Sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) might shrink 3.3% this year, its worst performance on record
· This is due to the combined effects of the disease and lower oil and commodities prices. Growth of about 2.1% could follow in 2021 and a slightly better performance of 3.2% in 2022, the Bank said
Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to reverse the economic contraction next year as countries in the region may begin to ease movement restrictions, despite the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic still at large , according to the World Bank. 40 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty, negating five years of gains fighting poverty, the ultilateral bank said in its report, the Bank added.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) might shrink 3.3% this year, its worst performance on record. This is due to the combined effects of the disease and lower oil and commodities prices. Growth of about 2.1% could follow in 2021 and a slightly better performance of 3.2% in 2022, the Bank said.
The outlook for the region by the World Bank for 2021 is not that pessimistic. The second wave of outbreak of the virus may not create that many problems for the economy as is the case in the first wave. The number of new infections will continue to slow and that fresh outbreaks won’t result in new lockdowns. If the outbreak is more prolonged or if there’s a second wave, sub-Saharan Africa’s economy may expand by only 1.2% in 2021 and 2.1% in 2022.
The other significant observation of the lender Bank is that the region would lose at least US$115 billion in output this year and long-term losses are expected “with the level of real per-capita GDP expected to contract between 2.1% and 5.1%.
East Africa and southern Africa will register slower growth in 2020 compared to West and Central Africa. The latter’s economies may expand faster next year at 2.7%, versus 1.3% in West and central Africa. In the meantime, oil-exporting countries have been hit hardest, with growth expected to drop by more than 4% in Angola and Nigeria.
