The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday maintained its growth forecast of 3.4% for Sub-Saharan Africa for this year, also raising South Africa's forecast to 4%.

The growth estimate thus maintains the April forecast, in which the IMF predicted a 3.4% recovery for this year and 4.1% for 2022.

"The 2021 forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa is unchanged from the April forecast, with an update for South Africa following a strong positive surprise in the first quarter, offset by downward revisions in other countries," the World Economic Outlook report, released Tuesday, states.

The IMF further warns that a worsening pandemic "is likely to weigh on the region's recovery."

As for South Africa, the IMF revised upwards its forecast for 2021 and 2022. According to the document, the South African economy should grow by 4.0% this year, after an upward revision of 0.9 percentage points.

For next year, this increase should be 2.2%, with the forecast being revised upwards by 0.2 percentage points.

According to the most recent data from the African Union's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent has counted more than 6.47 million cases since the pandemic began, including more than 164,000 deaths, and is currently being affected by a strong third wave.