The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that Angola’s economy will grow by 2.4% this year and 2.8% in 2025, but below the regional average, according to the World Economic Outlook, released on Tuesday.
According to the report released as part of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings, which are taking place this week in the US capital, Angola’s economic growth this year and next will be below not only the average for sub-Saharan Africa, but also for the group of oil exporting countries.
While the region’s economies will grow by an average of 3.6% and 4.2% this year and next, the oil exporters are expected to expand by 2.7% and 3.2% in 2024 and 2025, above Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second largest producer, in a list of oil exporters that also includes Nigeria, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, among others.
The report does not provide a detailed analysis of African economies, as it refers to the world economy, but it does reveal some figures on the macroeconomic scenario for all countries. It also shows that the Fund expects inflation in Angola to be 28.4% this year, falling to 21.3% next year, while the average for the region will be 18.1% and 12.3% in 2024 and 2025.
Like all the other Portuguese-language African countries (PALOP), Equatorial Guinea has seen economic expansion this year. Still, it is the only one expected to be in recession in 2025, when the IMF predicts that the economy will fall by 4.8%, unlike the other Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, which will maintain or accelerate growth next year.
For its part, Cabo Verde is expected to see a slight slowdown in economic growth, from 5.1% last year to 4.7% this year and next.
The outlook for Guinea-Bissau is stable. The country is expected to grow by 5% this year and next after expanding by 5.2% in 2023.
In Sao Tome and Principe, the Fund’s forecasts point to an economic recovery, with the archipelago rising from 0.4% last year to 1.1% this year and 3.3% in 2025, when the financial adjustment programme approved this week by the IMF staff should already be in place.
On the other hand, Mozambique should see a slowdown, from 5.4 % last year to 4.3 % this year and next.
