2022 is a commercially turbulent year for Africa due to domestic and international economic barriers. Issues such as food and energy inflation have been partly accelerated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict on the other side of the world.
Cost of living, food insecurity, energy shortages and more have become major crises in several regions across the continent, and experts expect these complications to continue.
Several global economic forecasts by world-renowned economists or financial institutions have shown that 2023 could be hit by a global recession, a sentiment shared by the World Bank.
An extract from the organization’s latest Global Economic Prospects report, which the World Bank notes is subject to frequent updates, reads, “Growth in 2023-24 is projected to be below the long-term average in several economies as rising cost of living and tighter policies continue to dampen domestic demand. Reduced growth will make it difficult to reverse increases in food insecurity and poverty.”
In rich countries such as Angola, South Africa and Nigeria, the World Bank estimates that growth will fall to 2.8%, 1.4% and 2.9% respectively.
Regardless, growth elsewhere in the SSA region is projected to strengthen to an average of 5.0% in 2023-24, slightly lower than the June forecast, even though more than 60% of countries in SSA are already at or at high risk. Debt burden.
Capital flows to SSA are expected to remain weak amid sharply increased credit risks, the report continues, as rising borrowing costs exacerbate credit sustainability concerns across the region.
With these nuances showing that Africa will float despite gloomy forecasts and perhaps be affected by the global recession, it is clear that some countries in the region will fare better than others in the 2023 financial year. The Bank reports that some regions will actually experience growth in their economies.
Save Mauritius, all countries on this list are projected to do better economically in 2023 than last year.
On that note, below are the top ten SSA countries with the highest economic prospects for 2023 according to the World Bank: