North Africa’s Economic Growth Projected to Reach 4.6% in 2023, AfDB

The North Africa region can anticipate a slight uptick in economic growth to 4.6% in 2023 and 4.4% in 2024, and should make green growth an urgent priority, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
This news comes from the institution’s 2023 North Africa Economic Outlook report entitled “Mobilizing Private-Sector Financing for Climate and Green Growth in Africa.”
The African Development Bank said that growth in the region is essentially driven by the service sector, particularly trade and tourism. The 2022 North Africa annual growth rate declined to 4.1% compared with 5.4% in 2021.
The report elucidated that inflation in the region is set to climb into double digits–14.2 percent–in 2023, before falling to 6.9 percent in 2024, adding that the regional budget deficit should hover around 3.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, and 3.2 percent in 2024.
In this light, the region’s trade deficit is expected to fall to 0.5 percent of GDP in 2023 and 0.2 percent in 2024, as the global economic environment–including the price of fossil fuels, the structure of trade, tourism, and foreign direct investments—all will influence the region’s external position.
The African Development Bank recommended that countries in the region invest in agriculture–in particular by developing improved varieties alongside water and soil management strategies–as well as strengthen their resilience in regard to linkages between the energy transition, water management and food security.
The bank stressed that North Africa should also strengthen its implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area in order to stimulate intra-African trade and investment.