Ethiopia is set to be the world’s fastest-growing economy in 2017, with its GDP forecast to grow by 8.3% compared to the global average of 2.7%. This is according to the latest edition of the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospect – which attributes this to the country’s buoyant service sectors, infrastructure investment and a rebound in agriculture.
Ethiopia has also recently become an investment destination of choice, attracting Chinese investment in particular.
Also in Africa, Tanzania has the second fastest-growing economy. It is forecast to expand by 7.2%, followed by Djibouti at 7%, both thanks to public investment. However, the report also notes that, with elevated debt levels, these countries need to increase public savings, contain debt accumulation and rebuild policy buffers.
Nevertheless, growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rebound to 2.6% in 2017, reaching 3.5% by 2019.
