Ethiopia displaced Ghana as the number one likely fastest growing economy in Africa. This was according to a revised report recently released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The report indicates that Ghana is now the second biggest economy in Africa and it is expected to experience a gain of 6.3 percent this year.
According to the IMF report, Ghana is currently growing at a lower rate than the forecasted growth rate at 8.9 percent for October this year. Its current growth rate is also lower than the predicted growth rate of Cote d’Ivoire at 7.4 percent. Ethiopia’s growth rate was predicted at 8.5 percent. Ethiopia’s gross domestic product which is almost double that of Ghana has managed to attract investors including the South Africa based Standard Bank, the General Electric Co., and several Chinese based companies.
The economy of Ghana worth $43 billion which increased by 8.5 percent in last year was driven mainly by commodities such as cocoa, oil and gold. However, revenue from oil production was the major boost to the economy since the country started oil production in 2010.
IMF predicted an increased growth rate of the sub-Saharan Africa region in this year at 3.4 percent and consequently a further increase to 3.7 percent for next year. IMF mentioned improved outlook of commodity exporters in the area as the primary drive for the expected increase in the rate of growth. According to IMF, Nigeria, most significant source of crude oil in Africa, will grow to 2.1 percent while South Africa, the world’s most significant source of platinum will rise to 1.5 percent. The 1.5 percent expansion of South Africa’s economy is an increase from the earlier predicted growth of 0.9 percent forecasted by IMF while Nigeria’s 2.1 economy expansion forecast remains as predicted earlier. Nigeria and South Africa account for almost half of the total sub-Sahara region Gross Domestic Product.
