<\/p>\n
The International Monetary Fund\u2019s (IMF) latest Regional Economic Outlook raised the 2026 growth projection by 0.2 percentage points from the April forecast. \u201cGrowth has held up despite the war in the Middle East and a difficult global environment,\u201d IMF African Department Director Zeine Zeidane said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zeidane attributed the resilience to earlier policy reforms, including subsidy and exchange-rate changes in Ethiopia and Nigeria and structural reforms in South Africa.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Businesses had also adapted supply chains and logistics, while global energy supplies were redirected and inventories used to absorb disruptions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, conditions differ significantly across countries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Higher oil, copper and gold prices are supporting commodity exporters, while growth is slowing and external deficits are widening in economies less dependent on natural resources. \u201cResilience is not immunity,\u201d Zeidane said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Median inflation is projected to rise from 3.4% in 2025 to 4.3% in 2026 and 5% in 2027.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Higher fuel, transport and fertiliser costs could place further pressure on food prices and household finances.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Government finances remain constrained, with interest payments absorbing about 12% of revenue in the typical country. Bilateral aid to the region is projected to fall by another 12% in 2026 after a sharp decline in 2025.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF identified renewed energy disruptions, global financial-market volatility, insecurity and a strong El Ni\u00f1o weather pattern as key downside risks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Zeidane urged governments to replace broad fuel subsidies with targeted assistance.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
General fuel-price support could cost about 4% of gross domestic product, while giving the poorest 40% of the population equivalent support would cost no more than 0.5%.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Commodity exporters should save most windfall revenue and repay expensive debt, while importing countries should continue fiscal consolidation without cutting essential services and productive investment. \u201cResilience today must not be financed by sacrificing tomorrow\u2019s growth,\u201d Zeidane said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF also called for reliable electricity, better digital connectivity, stronger workforce skills and predictable business conditions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–IMF\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44335,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-48089","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Sub-Saharan Africa\u2019s economy is projected to grow by 4.5% in 2026 and 2027, although rising inflation, expensive debt and declining aid threaten the outlook.","published_date":"","news_description":"","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48091,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48089\/revisions\/48091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=48089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}