The latest national accounts data from Sub-Saharan Africa tell a story of the good, the bad and the ugly. South Africa’s economy mounted a surprisingly strong recovery in Q3, and a solid rebound in Nigeria’s non-oil sector more than offset weakness in the oil sector. Meanwhile, weakness in industry prevented a steeper rebound in Ghana. And tourism-dependent Namibia actually recorded weaker year-on-year growth in Q3 than the already terrible outturn in Q2. Of course, all of this is somewhat old news and a recent rise in COVID-19 cases in key economies has raised fears that a tightening of containment measures will result in fresh downturns. And while positive vaccine news has brightened the outlook for 2021, the slow roll-out in the region will delay the recovery.
Subscriber content
Read this in full, free
Start a free trial and use one of your 10 free starter credits to unlock this piece.