The last quarter of 2022, saw some of the most despondent economic predictions all year round, as experts foreshadowed a global recession for 2023.
While Africa is hardly exempted from this forecast, the aberrant nature of the continent’s economy makes it a little uncertain how much, if at all, global events would affect Africa's economic growth.
Regardless, much like years past, the World bank has predicted the growth trajectory for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. While it looks like the global recession would have an impact on some African countries, the World Bank also projected that some African countries would experience growth despite external and internal economic catalysts.
In 2022, the World Bank disclosed that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is set to decelerate from 4.1% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2022.
However, the Bank projected that growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is set to bounce back to 3.5% in 2023 and 3.9% in 2024. A few percentage points more than 2022, but less than 2021.
Some of the Bank’s regional key figures include the Southern African subregion, which is projected to grow to 4.5% in 2023 and 5.0% in 2024. The Western and Central Africa subregion is projected to grow at 5.0% in 2023 and 5.5% in 2024, excluding Nigeria.
An extract from the Bank’s report reads, “amid soaring food prices and supply constraints, policy makers need to avoid making previous policy mistakes (bans or tariffs/taxes on exports and imports), and ensure international trade flows.”
The bank noted that Africa could mitigate the impending economic stagnation that may hit the world if it improves on implementing policies that accelerate structural transformation through productivity-enhancing growth and creating more and better jobs.
However, the bank did not fail to give data on what the growth figures for some African countries may look like in the new year. Below are five of these countries and their growth projections according to the World Bank.
Kenya: According to the bank, this East African nation is set to be at 5.0% in 2023, a decrease from last year’s 5.5%. The country's economic growth would also bump back up to 5.3% in 2024.
Nigeria: The World Bank predicted that Nigeria’s economy would take a hit, slowing down in 2023 to 3.2% from 3.3% in the previous year. The Bank however noted that Nigeria's economy would experience some growth the next year.
Côte d’Ivoire: In Côte d’Ivoire the economic growth for 2023 is projected to bounce back from 5.7% in 2022 to 6.8% in the new year. This is despite slowing to 4.8% in 2022.
Senegal: Economic growth in Senegal shows massive prospects, as the country’s economy is projected to grow to 8.0% in 2023 and further increase to 10.5% in 2024.
Cameroon: The World Bank noted that investments and private consumption would create stability in Cameroon at 4.3% in 2023, and grow to 4.6% in 2024.