Africa will account for eleven of the world's 20 fastest growing economies by 2024, according to a recent report on the continent's Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook (MEO), released by the African Development Bank.

The continent should continue to be the second fastest growing region after Asia.

The document indicates that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth on the African continent should reach an average of 3.8% and 4.2% in 2024 and 2025 respectively. This figure is higher than the projected global averages of 2.9% and 3.2%.

The top 11 African countries expected to record strong economic performance are Niger (11.2%), Senegal (8.2%), Libya (7.9%), Rwanda (7,2%), Ivory Coast (6.8%), Ethiopia (6.7%), Benin (6.4%), Djibouti (6.2%), Tanzania (6.1%), Togo (6%) and Uganda (6%).

The President of the World Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, recognizes that "despite the difficult global and regional economic environment, 15 African countries recorded an expansion in production of more than 5%".

The "Africa's Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook" report, a biannual publication released in the first and third quarters of each year, complements the "African Economic Outlook" (AEO) report, which focuses on the main emerging policy issues for the continent's development.

The latest report calls for cautious optimism, given the challenges posed by global and regional risks. These risks include rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying regional conflicts and political instability - factors that could disrupt trade and investment flows and perpetuate inflationary pressures.

President Adesina stressed that budget deficits have improved, as the faster-than-expected recovery from the pandemic has helped increase revenues.

He went on to explain that: "This has led to a stabilization of the average budget deficit at 4.9% in 2023, as in 2022, but significantly lower than the average budget deficit of 6.9% in 2020. The stabilization is also due to fiscal consolidation measures, especially in countries with high risks of over-indebtedness."

He warned that with the global economy mired in uncertainty, the African continent's fiscal positions will continue to be vulnerable to global shocks.

The report shows that medium-term growth prospects for the continent's five regions are slowly improving, which points to the continued resilience of African economies.