Nairobi, Kenya — Following the successful launch of the 2018 edition of its flagship African Economic Outlook, the African Development will on Monday, March 12, 2018 launch the regional versions of the Report.
This is the first time in the African Economic Outlook's 15-year history that an economic outlook report for each one of the Bank's 5 regions in Africa has been prepared to complement the main report.
The Regional Economic Outlook Report for East Africa - a premiere
"The African Economic Outlook is a flagship Bank publication. It is highly regarded by policy makers, researchers and experts because of its strong analytical contents and its practical recommendations on how to handle critical development issues. It also provides an economic snapshot of all 54 African countries. By introducing a regional focus for the first time, we are leveraging our expertise to add more granularity and policy relevance to this publication," said Celestin Monga, Chief Economist and Vice-President responsible for economic governance and knowledge management. "By introducing a regional focus for the first time, we are leveraging our expertise to give this publication greater depth of analysis and relevance."
Thus, the East Africa region, composed of 13 countries is entitled to its own analysis, as do the Central Africa, North Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa regions. This covers the specific features of the region, including challenges, successes and prospects. It covers the macroeconomic situation and developments and discusses structural issues affecting growth, poverty, and inequality. It also presents a synopsis of manufacturing activity in the region, due to its potential to drive future growth and employment creation.
East Africa Ranked 1st among Africa's best performing Regions
The East Africa region is ranked in first place for economic performance, with robust GDP growth at an annual rate of 5.9% in 2017. This GDP performance is higher than the average for the continent as a whole (3.6%) and places the East African region first in Africa, ahead of all regions. The robust GDP growth rate was, however, mainly contributed by six countries, namely, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Djibouti, Rwanda, Seychelles, and Kenya.
The outlook remains positive for 2018 and 2019, as growth is projected to continue growing at 5.9% and 6.2% in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Recent discoveries of commercially-viable natural resources (oil, gas etc.) by a number of some member countries, sustained macroeconomic stability due to improved fiscal and monetary policies, and progress and efforts towards regional integration all play their part in feeding into growth in the East Africa region.
Report to be lunched in Nairobi on March 12
"The African Economic Outlook is the result of extensive research including data collection, analysis, and projections. The Bank's economists have redoubled their efforts to produce the regional economic reports, which further enrich the knowledge products of the Bank," said Abebe Shimeles, Acting Director, Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research.
The Report will be unveiled on March 12, 2018 at the Bank's regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. Abraham Mwenda, Lead Economist for the East Africa region will present the Report on behalf of the Chief Economist and vice-president of the Bank, Célestin Monga. The Bank's Director General for Regional Office, Gabriel Negatu, will chair the event.
Representatives from the Government of Kenya, development partners, the private sector, and civil society organizations have been invited to the launch of the outlook.
The economic outlook reports for each of the Bank's 5 regions in Africa will be simultaneously presented to the public.
The report is embargoed until March 12, 2018.
