African Growth to Slow This Year, Rebound in 2012, AfDB Says
Economic growth in Africa may slow to 3.7 percent this year before picking up in 2012 as the northern part of the continent recovers from the impact of social unrest, the African Development Bank said.
The continent will experience a “twin-track” expansion, with the economy of North Africa expanding 0.7 percent and the rest of the continent seen growing 4.7 percent, Mthuli Ncube, the Tunis-based lender’s chief economist, told reporters in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, today. As a whole, Africa will grow 5.8 percent in 2012, up from 4.9 percent last year, he said.
“Growth next year will be driven by a recovery story we hope to see in Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Egypt,” Ncube said in an interview today. The three countries experienced civil unrest this year that resulted in changes of governments.
Faster global growth and increased domestic demand will also help revive expansion in Africa next year, he said. The so- called emerging trade partners such as Brazil, China, India, Turkey and South Korea now account for 37 percent of Africa’s trade, according to Ncube.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Malingha Doya in Dar es Salaam at dmalingha@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
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