Africa economy up by 4.3pc, says UN

Source: East African Standard

http://www.eastandard.net/thursday/Business/bus18072002002.htm

Africa’s economy grew by 4.3 percent last year, fuelled by strong agricultural production, higher than expected exports and the end of conflicts in a handful of countries, a United Nations commission said in a report released yesterday.

The growth comes despite a global economic slow-down after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, which were expected to lower commodity prices and reduce the amount of foreign investment in Africa, said the UN Economic Commission for Africa in its annual report.

But, the global slowdown had “a much less pronounced impact” on Africa, the commission said.

Output remained relatively strong and Africa’s overall economic growth increased from 3.5 percent in 2000 to 4.3 percent in 2001, the report said.

“Africa grew faster than any other developing region in 2001, reflecting better macro-economic management, strong agricultural production, higher than expected exports to the US and the cessation of conflicts in several countries,” the report said.

The commission cautioned that despite the continent’s overall economic growth last year, economic performance varied wildly in parts of Africa, with Equatorial Guinea’s economy growing 65 percent while Zimbabwe’s economy shrank by 7.5 percent.

However, the number of African countries with economic growth exceeding 3 percent jumped from 26 in 2000 to 37 in 2001, indicating that “most African countries appear to be converging towards growth rates above the traditional 3 percent with positive implications for poverty reduction”.

But, economic growth remains fragile throughout most parts of Africa and, at current rates, African countries will not achieve the UN Millennium Summit goal of halving poverty by 2015, the report said. - AP