The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts Nigeria’s economy will grow by 2.6% this year and 2.7% in 2022.
This is according to the October Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa: One Planet, Two Worlds, Three Stories, which was released on Thursday at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington.
It stated that non-oil sector recovery and higher oil prices would drive growth.
“Growth will inch up slightly to 2.7 per cent in 2022 and remain at this level over the medium term, allowing GDP per capita to stabilise at current levels, notwithstanding long-standing structural problems and elevated uncertainties.”
According to the IMF’s forecast, Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth will be 3.7% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022.
It predicted that the recovery would be aided by favorable external trade and commodity prices.
It also stated that improved harvests and increased agricultural production in a number of countries had benefited the region.
Mr Abebe Selassie, Director, African Department, IMF, said in his opening remarks at the media briefing on the outlook that the recovery was much needed after the sharp contraction in 2020.
Selassie, on the other hand, stated that the growth was still the slowest in comparison to other regions, attributing the disparity to slow vaccine rollout and differences in policy space.
“Against this backdrop, I want to highlight three areas which need concerted action by policymakers in countries and indeed the international community:
“The first of these is inequality. Policies need to be squarely focused on addressing the challenge of poverty to prevent the insecurity in the region.
“Policymakers need to navigate among three challenging pressures: pressing spending needs to address the many social, human capital, and infrastructure needs; limited borrowing capacity given already high public debt levels in most cases; and the time consuming and politically difficult nature of mobilising tax revenues.”
According to the director, countries that navigate the challenges successfully will have a significant impact on macroeconomic well-being and growth prospects.
He emphasized the significance of international solidarity and support in facilitating disparities in health, poverty, and economic outcomes.
He also predicted that the global population would increase by about two billion people over the next three decades, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for half of that increase.
“This presents a huge opportunity: a growing pool of human talent and ingenuity that will have a telling effect on the economic, social, and political trajectory of our planet. We need to pay more heed to this phenomenal opportunity.”
Selassie also reaffirmed the IMF’s commitment to assisting Sub-Saharan Africa in addressing the wide range of challenges it faced.
