African economy to grow 3.4% in 2024, World Bank

African economy is expected to grow by 3.4% this year and 3.8 in 2025, said the World Bank, noting that the rate was not enough to curb poverty.

The continent needs higher growth rates to help at least 462 million people in sub-Sahara who were still living in extreme poverty by 2023, the World Bank said in its Africa’s Pulse report.

As it continues to recover from the Covid 19 impact, the disruption of supply chains due to the war in Ukraine and imported inflation, the African economy would rebound on increased private consumption and declining inflation.

Recovery remains fragile due to uncertainties in the global economy, climate change, growing debt service obligations, frequent natural disasters, and conflicts.

The report states that political instability and geopolitical tensions weigh on economic activity and may constrain access to food for an estimated 105 million people at risk of food insecurity due to conflict and climate shocks.

Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the highest in the world, second only to the Latin America and Caribbean region, as measured by the region’s average Gini coefficient, it said.

“Inequality in Africa is largely due to the circumstances in which a child is born and accentuated later in life by obstacles to participating productively in markets and regressive fiscal policies,” it said.