1.1 Context A •
frica is experiencing steady economic growth, with real gross domestic product (GDP) rising at an average of 4.9 per cent per year between 2000
and 2008 (Leke et al. 2010). In 2013 and 2014, annual GDP growth averaged 4.5 per cent, and projected growth for 2017 is estimated at 5.1 per cent (World Bank 2015). The growth
in GDP is having very little impact in alleviating poverty or improving the health of the people since the collective economic base in the 54 countries of the region is very small. Africa’s combined GDP was estimated at USD 2.465 trillion in 2014, a figure that is almost equal to Brazil’s GDP of USD 2.346 trillion (World Bank 2016). Of the combined 2014 GDP of Africa, Nigeria and South Africa contributed the biggest chunk of 23 and 14 per cent, respectively.
Key Messages
Africa’s modest growth in gross domestic product (GDP) averaging over 4 per cent per annum is from a small economic base estimated at USD 2.465 trillion, of which Nigeria and South Africa make the biggest contribution. Unexploited potential in energy and agriculture, as well as the huge appetite for infrastructure development and the high ratio of people of working age could spur Africa’s economic growth even in the face of falling commodity prices and environmental challenges such as land degradation and the illegal off-take of wild fauna and flora.
• Competing uses, poor management practices and pollution, among other factors, are a threat to the state of Africa’s environment. Land continues to be degraded, reducing its productivity, while the quality of air is a growing concern in crowded urban centres particularly in the slums. The region’s adaptive capacity to climate change is low, while early warning systems for climate related disasters are weak. The weakness in early warning systems is at a time when the frequency and intensity of floods and droughts in Africa is increasing. Africa is therefore called upon to strengthen its preparedness to climate-related disasters, as well as to decouple its economic growth from carbon emissions.
• Limited use of data sharing platforms such as the Internet is slowing down Africa even though significant efforts are underway to take advantage of internet of things. Access to hard copy historical records remains a challenge, and efforts aimed at digitizing the records need to be speeded up, while restrictions on data sharing need to be lifted.
• Despite the extractive sector constituting one of Africa’s major economic sectors, data since the 1970s show a bare increase in the value and quantities of the extracted materials. The recorded decline in Africa’s share of the extractive sector at a global scale declined from 7.9 per cent in 1970 to 7 per cent in 2010 is a reflection of significant under- reporting, especially by the informal artisanal sector.
•
Africa has the potential to feed itself, and to register significant economic growth, by fully utilising the productive capacity of its land, water and oceans, as well as tapping into its growing labour and markets. Provision of clean forms of energy, particularly renewable electricity, will catalyse Africa’s development while also ensuring healthy living conditions.
Credit: Shutterstock/ Andrey Tiyk 13
Chapter 1: Regional Context and Priorities
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