East Africa set to lead Africa in growth despite conflicts and high inflation
The budding East Africa has been projected to grow higher than anticipated in 2024. The region is on pace to lead other sub-regions in Africa as the fastest-growing region.
This is despite its inflation which was the highest in Africa at 26.5% in 2023, with Sudan leading the way at 245.3%, and a war that ravaged its newest member Sudan.
A recent report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) revealed that despite numerous challenges facing East Africa, the region is expected to grow 3 times more than the previous year.
The report notes that East Africa’s economy is set to grow at 4.9%, more than double the 1.5% growth rate seen the previous year.
“East Africa is expected to maintain its position as Africa’s fastest-growing region, with real GDP growth rising from an estimated 1.5 percent in 2023 to 4.9 percent in 2024 and 5.7 percent in 2025,” the report states.
The downward revision of 0.2 percentage points for 2024 from the forecast in January 2024 Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook (MeO) is due to larger-than-expected contractions in Sudan and South Sudan,” it adds.
The war in Sudan has significantly impacted the growth in the area, and as a result, there has been a slowdown that has spread to South Sudan. As a result, the bank revised its January prediction down to 0.2% from 5.1%.
The report notes that Africa is expected to rebound and East Africa would lead this rebound.
“The projected rebound in Africa’s average growth will be led by East Africa (up by 3.4 percentage points) and Southern Africa and West Africa (each rising by 0.6 percentage points),” the report reads.
