By Irene Gaitirira
Published January 19, 2018
An annual report on Africa’s economic outlook that is said to be bridging ‘a critical knowledge gap on the diverse socio-economic realities of African economies through regular, rigorous, and comparative analysis’ has been launched.
Launched in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, this flagship of the African Development Bank (AfDB) provides short-to-medium term forecasts on the evolution of key macroeconomic indicators for all 54 African countries, as well as analysis on the state of socio-economic challenges and progress made in each country.
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The 2018 edition of African Economic Outlook is reference material for policy makers, researchers, investors, private sector players, civil society organisations, development partners, and many other players in in Africa’s development sector.
The 2018 edition of the report has been abridged to a maximum of four chapters and about 140 pages, down from more than 300 pages.
Besides this report released on January 17, 2018, AfDB says it shall release five sub-regional Economic Outlooks in May 2018, with each report focusing on priority areas, and providing analysis of respective economic and social landscapes. The sub-regional reports will also highlight issues of pressing current interest.
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AfDB has since 2003 produced an annual edition of African Economic Outlook with a main theme running through it as follows:
- 2003 Privatization
- 2004 Energy Supply and Demand
- 2005 Financing of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Development
- 2006 Promoting and Financing Transport Infrastructure
- 2007 Access to Drinking Water and Sanitation in Africa
- 2008 Technical and Vocational Training
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- 2009 Information and Communication Technology across Africa
- 2010 Public Resource Mobilization and Aid
- 2011 Africa and its Emerging Partners
- 2012 Promoting Youth Employment
- 2013 Structural Transformation and Natural Resources
- 2014 Global Value Chains and Africa’s Industrialization
- 2015 Regional Development and Spatial Inclusion
- 2016 Sustainable Cities and Structural Transformation, and
- 2017 Entrepreneurship and Industrial Development.
