The World Bank has cut its growth forecast for Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries for the year to 2.8 per cent from an initial 3.3 per cent.
In its latest report on the regional economy, the bank also cut its 2018 growth estimate to 2.3 per cent from October’s prediction of 2.7 per cent growth.
According to the bank, the slower-than-expected overall growth reflects ongoing global uncertainty, which increasingly comes from domestic macroeconomic instability, including poorly managed debt, inflation and deficits.
The bank said Nigeria, South Africa and Angola, which make up about 60 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s annual economic output, were all facing various challenges, curbing their contribution to the growth momentum.
The bank said growth would take longer to recover as a decline in industrial production and a trade dispute between China and the United States take their toll.
The bank’s forecast for the year means economic growth will lag population growth for the fourth year in a row and it will remain stuck below 3 per cent, which it slipped to in 2015.
(NAN)