Africa will account for eleven of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024, the African Development Bank Group said in its latest Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook (MEO) of the continent released on February 16.
Overall, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the continent is expected to average 3.8% and 4.2% in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
The report said this is higher than projected global averages of 2.9% and 3.2%.
The continent is set to remain the second-fastest-growing region after Asia.
Africa is set to emerge as the second fastest-growing region in the world this year with six sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries – Niger, Senegal, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Côte d’Ivoire, and Ethiopia –to become the top 10 fastest-growing economies in 2024.
Emerging markets in Asia and Africa still reign supreme: They’re at the top of global growth projections over the next two years.
The military-ruled West African nation of Niger is expected to be an outlier – leading the continent’s growth with a 12.8% GDP expansion this year.
This surge will be driven predominantly by the commencement of large-scale oil production and exports.
The country’s oil output is expected to rise from the current 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) to over 100,000 bpd.
Central to this upswing is the new Niger–Benin pipeline linking the Agadem oil fields to the port of Seme in Benin.
The top 11 African countries projected to experience strong economic performance forecast are Niger (11.2%), Senegal (8.2%), Libya (7.9%), Rwanda (7.2%), Cote d’Ivoire (6.8%), Ethiopia (6.7%), Benin (6.4%), Djibouti (6.2%), Tanzania (6.1%), Togo (6%), and Uganda at 6%.
Niger’s 2023 GDP growth is estimated at a modest 2.3%, impacted by the economic repercussions, including international sanctions, following a coup in July that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and led to military control.
However, in 2022, Niger was again among the world’s fastest-growing economies, with an 11.5% GDP increase, largely due to a boost in agricultural production.
Niger is also expected to benefit from a possible revenue windfall from Uranium exports as renewed interest in nuclear energy draws investments and demand from countries other than France.
Having severed ties with France, Niger is now freed from the obligation of selling uranium to Paris at a sharp discount.
Border closures and sanctions imposed by the regional bloc ECOWAS, however, have hurt the Nigerien economy.
In January, Niger along with its junta-ruled allies – Burkina Faso and Mali pulled out of ECOWAS accusing them of being ‘under the influence of foreign powers’.
According to a Bloomberg survey by economists, the world is expected to grow 3.2 percent in 2024 and 3.7 percent next year after expanding 3.3 percent in each of the past two years.
-
- East Africa: East Africa will continue to lead Africa’s growth momentum, with growth projected to rise to 5.1% in 2024 and 5.7% in 2025, supported by strong strategic investments to improve internal connectivity and deepen intra-regional trade.
![]()
- North Africa: Successive adverse weather conditions and macroeconomic challenges will hold the region’s growth steady at 3.9% in 2024 with a slight improvement to 4.1% in 2025.
![]()
- Central Africa: Growth is forecast to moderate to 3.5% in 2024 but projected recovery in private consumption and increases in mining investment and exports could help push growth to 4.1% in 2025.
![]()
- Southern Africa: Growth will remain sluggish at 2.2 and 2.6% in 2024 and 2025, respectively. This reflects continued economic weakness in South Africa, the region’s largest economy.
![]()
- West Africa: Growth is projected to pick up to 4 and 4.4% in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Strong growth in most countries in the region is projected to offset slowdowns in Nigeria and Ghana. The announced withdrawal of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) casts a shadow over the sustainability of gains amid growing uncertainty.
![]()
Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook, a biennial publication released in the first and third quarters of each year, complements the existing African Economic Outlook (AEO), which focuses on key emerging policy issues relevant to the continent’s development.