A World Bank (WB) report published on Wednesday indicates that the sub-Saharan African economy will grow 3.3% this year and 3.5% in 2022. This boost will come from rising commodity prices, lifting of some anti-covid restrictions, and a pickup in trade around the world.

The WB report states that growth could prove to be over 5.1% in 2022 and 5.4% a year later. However, this will depend on how fast immunizations are occurring. In this regard, a slower vaccination rate would reduce growth projections.

"Slower vaccination delivery and coverage would prevent the relaxation of covid-19 interference with economic activity. Thus, and growth would slow to 2.4% in 2023," according to Africa's Pulse bank report.

The last report from the same bank, published in April, forecast growth of 2.3% to 3.4% this year, after an estimated contraction of 2.0% in 2020.

While many developed economies have gradually reopened thanks to vaccination campaigns, the pace of immunizations in Africa remains slow. And yet there is concern that the continuing threats posed by coronavirus variants could leave African nations trapped in cycles of on-off lockdowns.

According to WHO Africa, as of the end of September, half of the 52 African countries that have received covid-19 vaccines have vaccinated 2% or less of their populations.

Growth may prove to be over 5.1% in 2022 and 5.4% a year later

World Bank

The World Bank has said that the economies of Angola, Nigeria and South Africa should come out of recession this year.

Good winds for other nations

Angola, which is an oil producer, recorded a growth rate of 0.4% in 2021, after five consecutive years of recession, according to the report.

Nigeria's growth was forecast to be 2.4%, driven by services. And South Africa was expected to grow by 4.6%, based on better performance in services, industry and agriculture.

The bank mentioned in the document the non-resource rich countries that should also recover strongly. For example, Ivory Coast's economy is expected to grow by 6.2% and Kenya's by 5.0% this year.

The WB stated that sub-Saharan Africa witnessed a jump in public debt during the pandemic. As seen, average general government gross debt projected at 71% of GDP for 2021, up 30 percentage points since 2013.

"Increased funding on commercial terms, partly reflecting the recent increase in Eurobond issuance, has increased the exposure of sub-Saharan African countries to interest rate, exchange rate and rollover risks," BM said.

The bank also said that other challenges to the region's economic prospects included rising inflation and climate change. Although sub-Saharan Africa is the smallest contributor to global carbon emissions, it has been hit hardest by climate change.