Global South Pole

Africa's Big Five & Egypt’s Bid for Continent’s Economic Crown

16:07, 10 November 2024
Aliyu Bello
All materials
The IMF reports that Africa's five largest economies—Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, and Ethiopia—account for half of the continent's GDP. By 2027, Egypt is expected to surpass South Africa, becoming Africa's largest economy, highlighting the continent's evolving economic dynamics.
Sputnik
The concentration of economic growth in a few African nations has weakened the continent's smaller economies, prompting individuals from less developed countries to seek opportunities in more advanced economies in the continent, Dr. Prosper Chitambara, Senior Research Economist and Policy Advisor, Labor and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe, tells Global South Pole.
The Zimbabwean economist further underscores the necessity for a more balanced development strategy across Africa and emphasizes that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement will be pivotal in achieving sustainable development.

“I think it's within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area. I think there is an opportunity that we can see more even development, especially through the promotion of regional value chains that are based on comparative and competitive advantages prevailing in African economies in general. So we are hoping that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area offers numerous opportunities to enhance trade, industrialization and regional cooperation through channels like these regional value chains,” Dr. Chitambara stresses.

The economist explains that the larger economies in Africa could act as catalysts for the development of smaller economies. He emphasizes the need for increased support and investment from these major economies, particularly in addressing the continent's infrastructure financing requirements, which he deemed critical for overall growth.

“My thinking is that I think there's an important role that these big African economies could actually play in terms of supporting some of the key requirements around, say, for example, infrastructure, even around technological transfer to the smaller economies. I think that would help definitely in terms of supporting the rest of the African economies and also in terms of enhancing regional or continental integration,” he points out.

Dr. Chitambara, reflecting on the projection of Egypt becoming Africa's largest economy by 2027, attributes this shift to the country's diversified economic base and the stability the country has sustained over the years.

“Egypt also has a huge population, which helps in terms of driving aggregate demand within the Egyptian economy and the stability in general, especially, the political stability that we've seen in Egypt. I think that definitely helps in terms of promoting growth,” he says.

Also featured in this podcast is:
An interview conducted by a Sputnik Africa correspondent with Peter Baur, an Associate Professor at the School of Economics, University of Johannesburg, who shared his insights on the World Bank report, which highlights that countries like Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Uganda, and Tanzania are expected to see growth rates surpassing 6% in 2024. He discusses the factors driving this positive economic outlook and the potential impact on the broader African economy.
To find out what else our guests had to say, tune in to the Global South Pole podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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