Francophone West African Region forecasts 7% growth in 2023
Economic expansion in the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union will accelerate to 7% this year as many of the countries recover from the shock of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Gross domestic product growth will quicken from 5.9% in 2022, Mohamed Bazoum, president of Niger who doubles as the head of WAEMU heads of state conference, said in a statement. The members of the union are Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
The shock of higher commodity prices and disruption to supply chains caused by the war in Ukraine further restricted economic activity in these countries after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among some of the countries to record higher growth in 2023 compared with last year are Burkina Faso 4.9% from 2.5%, Guinea-Bissau 4.5% from 3.5% and Senegal 8.3%, the fastest in Sub-Saharan Africa from 4.7%, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Inflation in the region will quicken to 4.4% this year from 3% in 2022, Bazoum said. Sanctions last year that prevented Mali from functioning in regional institutions has been lifted, he said.
