IMF projects 3.4% growth rate for SSA countries
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), has projected a 3.4 percentage points growth rate for the Sub-Sahara African region for 2021.
The Fund, according to its July World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update, has projected a further growth rate of 4.1 percent in 2022.
Growth rate projection for this year, the Fund notes has been marked down 0.4 percentage points, with the slow rollout of vaccines as the main factor weighing on the
recovery which has partially been offset by stronger external demand from advanced economies.
“IMF staff analysis indicates that low-income developing countries will require close to $200 billion in spending to combat the pandemic and an additional $250 billion to regain their pre-pandemic convergence paths,” said the IMF in its WEO Update report.
Meanwhile, countries such as Nigeria and South Africa have been projected to record growth rates below the region’s growth rate with 2.4 percent and 2.6 percent respectively for 2021.
Related Story: Drawing Further Apart: Widening gaps in the global recovery
For the advanced countries, growth prospects have been revised upwards for 2021 and 2022 due to effective vaccine rollout with additional fiscal support.
On the global growth rate, the IMF asserts that the global economy is projected to grow 6.0 percent in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022.
“The global economy is projected to grow 6.0 percent in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022. Although the 2021 forecast is unchanged from April, there are offsetting
revisions across advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies reflecting differences in pandemic developments and policy shifts. The 0.5 percentage point upward revision for 2022 largely reflects anticipated additional fiscal support in the United States, with associated spillovers to the global economy,” stated the IMF.
Meanwhile, the Fund has warned that divergent recoveries occasioned mainly by vaccines rollout and fiscal support among advanced, emerging and low-income economies are expected to continue into 2022.
For more details, click on this link IMF 2021 July WEO
