African Economy To Expand By 5 Per Cent – UN

African Economy To Expand By 5 Per Cent – UN

Rising infrastructure investment and agricultural productivity and a growing demand for Africa 's exports will help the continent's economy expand by 5 percent in 2011 and 5.1 percent in 2012.

According to the United Nation's World Economic Situation and Prospects report launched in Ethiopia , falling exports and weak commodity prices slowed the continent's growth to 2.3 percent in 2009, but improving global trade enabled Africa to rebound by 4.7 per cent in 2010.

“The recovery of global trade and the strong economic rebound in East Asia supported by a strong rebound in Africa's commodity exports, increased government spending on infrastructure, strong performance of the agricultural sector and new inflows of foreign investments in extractive industries underpinned strong growth in domestic demand," the UN report said.

The UN said the continent's overall growth has ‘masked' substantial disparities in economic performances by African countries.

Ethiopia , Egypt , Uganda , Tanzania , Rwanda and Zambia are among a few countries with ‘fast-growing' economies with growing manufacturing and service sectors, as well as improving agricultural production and investments in infrastructure.

The UN projected Ethiopia 's economy would grow by 9.4 per cent this year.

Chad , Niger and Algeria on the other hand, are among a few countries expected to face weak economic expansion in 2011.

“The slow-growing economies of the region are mostly characterised by continued political instability and/or insecurity, with presumed adverse effects on investments and other drivers of growth,” the report said.

The continent's performance however was not strong enough to meet poverty reduction targets.

NAN/Margaret/Yinka