This section examines recent economic performance at the continental and subregional levels. It discusses disparities in growth performance and the factors behind the observed disparities across countries and subregions. The analysis pays particular attention to structural factors such as endowment in natural resources, the role of policies and institutions as well as non-policy drivers of growth, including exogenous factors such as natural calamities, geography, and civil conflicts. The discussion highlights key constraints to growth in Africa and strategies to address these constraints.
African economies continue to sustain the growth momentum African economies continued to sustain the growth momentum of previous years, recording an overall real GDP growth rate of 5.7 per cent in 2006 compared to 5.3 per cent in 2005 and 5.2 per cent in 2004 (figure 2.1). For the second consecutive year, Africa’s growth rate remains higher than that of Latin America (4.8 per cent) but lower than that of developing Asia (8.7 per cent). As many as 28 countries recorded improvements in growth in 2006 relative to 2005. Only one country – Zimbabwe - recorded a negative growth rate in 2006.
Africa’s growth performance in 2006, as in previous years, was underpinned by improvement in macroeconomic management in many countries, and by strong global demand for key African export commodities, resulting in high export prices, especially for crude oil, metals and minerals (see chapter 1). This explains the very high growth rates recorded by oil-rich countries (see figure 2.3).
However, for most African countries, real growth rates remain low relative to their development goals. From 1998 to 2006, 25 per cent of African countries achieved a real GDP growth rate of less than 3 per cent per annum.
Only five countries achieved an average real GDP growth rate of 7 per cent or more during this period (table 2.1). At this pace, few countries are positioned to achieve the MDGs by 2015. Hence, the continent faces the challenge of increasing growth rates and sustaining these high growth rates over an extended period. Besides sustaining reforms to maintain macroeconomic stability and further improve the domestic investment climate to promote private sector activity, a more strategic approach to growth policy is needed, to effectively address the binding constraints to growth.
To learn more about this author, visit United Nations Economic Commission for Africa's Website.
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