Recent trends in the world economy: a case study of Africa

In 2006, world economic growth improved slightly to 3.8 per cent from 3.5 per cent in 2005. Globally, growth rates were highest in South-east Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States, and countries in East and South Asia. Similarly, African economies continued to sustain the growth momentum of previous years, recording GDP growth rate of 5.7 per cent in 2006 compared to 5.3 per cent in 2005 and 5.2 per cent in 2004. This article provides the recent economic growth performance of the world in general and African continent in particular. It discusses developments in both the developed and developing countries especially the progress and challenges in human development, and also gives a brief exposition of the prospects for 2007. The paper further examines recent economic performance at the continental and sub-regional levels. It discusses disparities in growth performance and the factors behind the observed disparities across countries and sub-regions. The discussion highlights key constraints to growth in Africa and strategies to address these constraints. The paper provides some concluding remarks.