Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to rebound, reaching 3.8 percent in 2025 and 4.1 percent in 2026, a report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has revealed. The report was released Wednesday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, during the 57th session of UNECA’s Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. Presenting the report, Zuzana Schwidrowski, UNECA's director of macroeconomics, finance and governance division, said African economies remain resilient, but growth is below levels to advance social development across the continent. She said risks to the continent's growth remain high due to global economic uncertainty, fragmentation, declining aid, and geopolitical tensions. According to Schwidrowski, the contribution of trade to Africa's growth is below past levels, although intra-African trade is becoming more vibrant and diversified in some sub-regions of the continent. The report further noted that Africa remains the second fastest growing region amid declining inflationary pressure. While extreme poverty in Africa has declined along a downward global trend, it remained high in almost all the sub-regions of Africa in 2024, with North Africa being the exception. The report further noted that climate change continues to pose risks to Africa's development gains. Temperature increases are expected to reduce agricultural yields, leading to persistent food insecurity in some parts of the continent.
