Global Economic Outlook 2016: Sub-Saharan Africa: Climbing a Steeper Hill?

The Conference Board Global Economic Outlook 2016 projects a growth rate of 5.2 percent for sub-Saharan Africa from 2016 to 2020 and 5.0 percent from 2021 to 2025. This makes it the fastest-growing region in the world for the next decade. Still, growth rates are likely to gradually slow as the region faces significant challenges, including lesser stimuli from natural resources booms, high unemployment rates, challenges to produce sustained development through industrialization, and derailing of reform agendas. Heterogeneity among the sub-Saharan African countries in terms of business climate and growth potential calls for businesses to use different strategies depending on whether the economy is classified as undiversified, agricultural, frontier, or fragile.

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