Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire — Following the successful launch of the 2018 edition of its flagship African Economic Outlook, the African Development Bank 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 Central Africa - a premiere

The Central Africa regional economic outlook covers issues peculiar to the region.

"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."

Better prospects after previous modest performance

The Central Africa region, which comprises eight countries, recorded 0.9% growth in real GDP in 2017. These modest figures are higher than the 0.1% recorded in 2016. Even so, the region is in last place on the continent in comparison with the 3.6% recorded for Africa as a whole and with the economic performance of the other four regions: East Africa, North Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa.

The low growth by Central Africa can be largely explained by low prices of the raw materials on which some countries of the region are highly dependent on and the recurrent security threats in others.

AfDB's Economic Outlook 2018 Reports on Africa's Five Regions

As a leading African institution, the African Development Bank was the first to provide headline numbers on Africa's macroeconomic performance and outlook in 2018 by launching this year's edition of its yearly flagship report, the African Economic Outlook (AEO), on Wednesday, January 17, 2018. AfDB President Akin Adesina acknowledged that "for the first time in the history of the Bank, it published its own African Economic Outlook - alone!" and "that's the kind of African Development Bank we want: a Bank that leads." In preparation for the Bank's Annual Meetings in Busan, Korea, (May 21-25), the report offers researchers, economists and the general public an analyses of African economic development during the previous year and near term. "By offering regional approaches for the first time, Celestin Monga, Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank's Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, highlights how the Bank wants to leverage its expertise and give a more indepth of analysis and relevance to this publication." More about AfDB in this BRIEFING. 

Prospects for 2018 and 2019 are more encouraging, fueled by a rise in global commodity prices and increased domestic demand. According to the Bank's projections, real GDP growth in Central Africa is projected to reach 2.4% in 2018 and 3% in 2019. Other favourable factors include sound macroeconomic management and a more favourable institutional environment.

Report to be launched on March 12 in Abidjan

"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 Bank's regional economic outlook report for Central Africa will be presented to the public on March 12, 2018 at 2.00 PM at the Bank's Head Office in Abidjan at the same time as the report for West Africa.

The official launch will be led by Mr. Celestin Monga, the Bank's Vice President and Chief Economist and Abebe Shimeles, Acting Director, Macroeconomic Forecasting and Research. Ousmane Doré, Director General for Central Africa, will chair the event, while Hervé Lohoues, Lead Economist for the region, will also be on the presentation panel.

Representatives of the Côte d'Ivoire Government, ambassadors of the countries in Central Africa, representatives of the private sector, partner organizations, and the civil society and the press are invited to the launch event.

The economic outlook reports for each of the Bank's 5 regions in Africa will be presented to the public simultaneously.

The report is embargoed until March 12, 2018.