Sub-Saharan Africa's growth performance during the past three years has been the best in more than three decades, and higher oil revenues and increased debt relief have been used to make progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Despite spending pressures, most countries have...

Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa Prepared by the Policy Wing of the IMF African Department, this first, annual issue of Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa analyzes economic, trade, and institutional issues in 2004, and prospects in 2005, for the 42 countries covered by...

The economic slowdown in sub-Saharan Africa looks set to be mercifully brief. Recovery is now under way across the region. The region's relative resilience during this global recession, compared with previous global downturns, owes much to the health of its economies and the strengthening of...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Context. The emergence of large fiscal and external imbalances in recent years, which led to a slowdown in growth, is putting Ghana's medium-term prospects at risk. The Government's efforts to achieve fiscal consolidation since mid-2013 have been undermined by policy slippages,...

Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to pick up, though at a slower pace than previously expected. This revision reflects a more challenging external environment, continued output disruptions in oil-exporting countries, and a weaker-than-anticipated growth in South Africa. The challenge for...

This paper discusses Burkina Faso's Third Review Under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement. Policies and reform implementation under the ECF-supported program have been satisfactory. All end-June 2019 quantitative performance criteria and indicative targets were met as well as all,...

This paper discusses Sierra Leone's Third and Fourth Reviews Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement and Financing Assurances Review, Requests for Waivers for Nonobservance of Performance Criteria (PC) and Modification of PC. Program implementation has been good, notwithstanding the...

This paper discusses Madagascar's Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) and Request for Disbursement under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). Madagascar's economic recovery has failed to gain momentum in 2015, largely due to external shocks, persistent political instability, and weak governance....

This Selected Issues paper reviews the evolution of inequality in Ethiopia and discusses the role of various macroeconomic policies as well as structural factors. With a Gini coefficient of 30, Ethiopia remains among the most egalitarian countries in the world. The most vulnerable households...

This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that Cameroon's economy has shown resilience in the face of the twin shocks of the oil price slump and heightened security threats, with the robust growth of 2014 continuing into 2015. Growth is broad-based and projected to reach 5.9 percent in 2015,...