Despite President Bola Tinubu’s assurance of concerted efforts to revitalize Nigeria’s economy, the country finds itself conspicuously absent from the roster of 11 African nations poised for rapid economic advancement in 2024.
The latest report from the African Development Bank Group, detailing the continent’s macroeconomic performance and outlook, reveals that Africa is set to host 11 of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies in 2024. Regrettably, Nigeria is not among them.
The African Development Bank’s projections spotlight Niger (11.2 percent), Senegal (8.2 percent), Libya (7.9 percent), Rwanda (7.2 percent), Cote d’Ivoire (6.8 percent), Ethiopia (6.7 percent), Benin (6.4 percent), Djibouti (6.2 percent), Tanzania (6.1 percent), Togo (6 percent), and Uganda (6 percent) as the top performers anticipated for the year.
Contrastingly, the International Monetary Fund has downgraded its forecast for Nigeria’s economic growth to 3 percent in 2024, a slight dip from the 3.1 percent projected in October 2023.
The overall assessment from the AfDB report underscores the continent’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, expected to average 3.8 percent and 4.2 percent in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Addressing concerns during the report’s launch at the sidelines of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina remarked, “As we convene here, Africa grapples with a convergence of challenges, including soaring living costs, waning economic growth, tightening global financial conditions, a dearth of concessional resources, escalating climate change impacts, enduring health pandemics, conflicts, and geopolitical tensions.”
“The confluence of these global and regional challenges with existing structural weaknesses jeopardizes Africa’s incremental economic resurgence and hampers socioeconomic progress,” he added.
Adesina also highlighted that despite the formidable economic landscape, 15 African nations have achieved output expansions surpassing 5 percent, showcasing pockets of resilience amid adversity.
