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World Bank forecasts marginal economic gains for sub-Saharan Africa in 2025

Jun 11, 2025, 8:57am EDT
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Kermel Market, in downtown Dakar, Senegal.
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to edge up to 3.7% this year from 3.5% in 2024, the World Bank said.

It is the only region other than the Middle East and North Africa that is expected to see such acceleration, as growth weakens among developing economies, the lender wrote in its latest Global Economic Prospects report. That’s “assuming the external environment does not deteriorate further, inflation declines as expected, and regional conflicts subside,” it cautioned.

However, this growth is lower than the region’s long-term average, the World Bank noted, “and is insufficient to make substantial progress in reducing extreme poverty.”

A chart showing GDP growth in aub-Saharan Africa compared to India, the US, Europe, and the world average.
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