The World Bank raised its 2026 growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa to 4.3% on 6 October, 0.3 percentage points above its April projection, after growth of 4.1% in 2025. Its twice-yearly Africa’s Pulse report upgraded nearly three-quarters of the region’s economies, including Nigeria, Angola, Ethiopia and Zambia, and found that public debt has stabilised at about 57% of gross domestic product (GDP). The Bank expects median inflation to rise from 3.7% to 5.5% this year as fuel, fertiliser and food prices climb. Income per person is set to grow by only 1.8%, so faster growth will do little for households, and about half of the region’s countries remain in debt distress or at high risk of it.
Sources
- World Bank (official press release): https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/10/06/economic-growth-in-sub-saharan-africa-gains-momentum-despite-global-uncertainty
- BusinessDay (Nigeria): https://businessday.ng/africa/article/world-bank-raises-africas-2026-growth-forecast-to-4-3/
- Eyewitness News: https://www.ewn.co.za/world-bank-raises-sub-saharan-africas-2026-economic-growth-forecast-to-43
- Agence Ecofin: https://www.ecofinagency.com/news/0610-59504-world-bank-raises-sub-saharan-africa-growth-forecast-to-4-3-for-2026