Sunday, December 4, 2011

Hopes of Rising Growth in Africa

Despite evidence of economic divergence among the world’s wealthiest and poorest nations, including most of Sub-Saharan Africa, recent data has shown rapid growth in this area. “Over the past decade, six of the world’s ten fastest-growing countries were African,” and the IMF expects growth rates similar to Asia’s in the next few years. While increasing revenues from natural resources and favorable demography are partly responsible, African countries are also beginning to develop manufacturing and service economies. While Africa still faces terrible corruption, poverty, and inequality in many places, numbers are moving in the right direction with a growing middle class and an increasing rate of foreign investment. Africa may break into global light manufacturing and service sectors, with growing technology use and international trade increasing as tariffs and barriers are eliminated. Peaceful governments and falling birth rates are helping the trend, and as the working age population begins to increase, we can only hope to see further growth and a promise of future economic convergence.


http://www.economist.com/node/21541015

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