ECA Policy Brief - Issue 05

In the past decade, Africa recorded strong economic growth rates, both in terms of its own historical record and relative to other regions. While the continental growth rate did not reach the 7 per cent required to halve the poverty rate by 2015, it averaged a remarkable 5.6 per
cent each year during 2000-2008, second only to developing East and South Asia. What is more, although growth across Africa slowed since then due to the knock-on effects of the 2008-2009 global economic and financial crises, it quickly rebounded in many countries to pre-crisis
levels, demonstrating the continent’s resilience.