The Economic Report on Africa 2013

The Economic Report on Africa 2013

The Economic Report on Africa 2013 “Making The Most of Africa’s Commodities: Industrializing for Growth, Jobs and Economic Transformation” states that the continent’s economic outlook for 2013 and 2014 is promising, confirming Africa’s healthy resilience to internal and external shocks and its role as a growth pole in an ailing global economy. Africa’s economy is projected to grow by 4.8% in 2013 and accelerate further to 5.3% in 2014.

The Economic Report on Africa is produced annually by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the OECD Development Centre, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Interestingly the report argues that improving human capital will promote productivity vital for economic transformation:

  • “Even though the continent has seen rapid enrollment in primary school, secondary and tertiary enrollment has been fairly slow. The quality of education also needs lifting, as the pace of enrollment has not been matched by investment in school infrastructure…”
  • “…African countries need to do more to improve the quality of economic growth, and diversification into labour-intensive industries has the potential to induce inclusive growth, employment generation, poverty reduction and improved social conditions. “

To download the full report and for further analysis regarding the Zambian economic outlook please visit www.uneca.org