{"id":16475,"date":"2026-01-11T04:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T04:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/16475\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T04:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T04:51:10","slug":"kenya-ethiopia-to-drive-africas-economic-growth-in-2026-un","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/16475\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya, Ethiopia to drive Africa\u2019s economic growth in 2026 \u2013 UN"},"content":{"rendered":"

President William Ruto, Ethiopia\u2019s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (right) with other Heads of States and dignitaries during the inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam \/FILE<\/p>\n

Economic
\ngrowth in Africa is expected to reach four per cent in 2026 and 4.1 per cent in
\n2027.<\/p>\n

This
\nis a significant growth compared to 3.5 and 3.9 per cent posted in 2024 and
\n2025, respectively, according to the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2026 by the United Nations.<\/p>\n

The acceleration reflects
\nstronger macroeconomic stability in several major economies.<\/p>\n

However, high debt
\nservicing costs, limited fiscal space and food inflation continue to weigh on
\nthe prospects for inclusive and sustainable development, the report stresses.<\/p>\n

It also highlights trade
\ntensions, global uncertainty and challenges related to AGOA (African Growth and
\nOpportunity Act) and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade
\nArea (AfCFTA).<\/p>\n

The report suggests that
\nAfrican growth will remain resilient, despite headwinds such as declining
\nofficial development assistance, rising trade barriers and an uncertain global
\ntrade and financial environment.<\/p>\n

Even so, performance will
\nvary across sub-regions, with East Africa expected to record the highest growth, at 5.8 per
\ncent in 2026 compared to 5.4 per cent in 2025, driven by the performance of
\nEthiopia and Kenya and supported by regional integration and the expansion of
\nrenewable energy.<\/p>\n

North Africa is expected to slow slightly to 4.1 per cent in
\n2026 after 4.3 per cent in 2025, while West Africa is set to slow to 4.4 per
\ncent in 2026 after 4.6 per cent in 2025.<\/p>\n

Central Africa, on the other hand, is projected to expand by three per
\ncent this year compared to 2.8 per cent last year, while Southern Africa is
\npoised to expand by two per cent, up from 1.6 per cent in 2025.<\/p>\n

The report estimates that
\nAfrica’s average public debt-to-GDP ratio will reach 63 per cent in 2025, with
\ninterest payments absorbing nearly 15 per cent of public revenue.<\/p>\n

It notes that a few
\ncountries have regained access to international markets through new bond
\nissues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the same time, around 40 per cent of African countries remain in a situation of over-indebtedness or
\nare at high risk of becoming so, and several are seeking to restructure under
\nthe G20’s common framework.<\/p>\n

The report also
\nhighlights that limited fiscal space continues to constrain development
\nspending, even as reform and consolidation efforts are progressing in some of the
\nlarger economies.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the report shows that African trade grew in 2025, supported by significant exports of
\nprecious metals and agricultural products, as well as increased imports of
\ntransport equipment.<\/p>\n

According to the United
\nNations, the region’s exposure to global trade tensions remains limited, thanks
\nto the diversification of export partnerships and exemptions from higher US
\ntariffs on key products such as crude oil and gold.<\/p>\n

However, the expiry of
\nthe African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the introduction of new
\ntariff measures pose challenges for some exporters, particularly in the
\nclothing sector, while progress in implementing the African Continental Free
\nTrade Area (AfCFTA) has been slow and uneven, the report indicates.<\/p>\n

Globally, the report
\nforecasts global growth of 2.7 per cent in 2026, slightly below the 2.8 per
\ncent estimated for 2025 and well below the pre-pandemic average of 3.2 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To navigate a period of
\ntrade readjustments, persistent price pressures and climate shocks, the UN
\ncalls for strengthened global coordination and collective action, against a
\nbackdrop of intensifying geopolitical tensions and weakening momentum for
\nmultilateral solutions.<\/p>\n

It stresses the
\nimportance of restoring confidence, enhancing predictability and renewing
\ncommitment to an open, rules-based multilateral trading system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President William Ruto, Ethiopia\u2019s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (right) with other Heads of States and dignitaries during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[65,351,352,98,100,353,101,350,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-16475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ethiopia","8":"tag-ethiopia","9":"tag-kenya-news","10":"tag-star","11":"tag-star-news","12":"tag-star-news-kenya","13":"tag-star-newspaper-kenya","14":"tag-the-star","15":"tag-the-star-kenya","16":"tag-the-star-newspaper"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}