The broad-based slowdown in sub-Saharan Africa is easing, but the underlying situation remains difficult. Growth is expected to pick up from 1.4 percent in 2016 to 2.6 percent in 2017, reflecting one-off factors—particularly, the rebound in Nigeria’s oil and agricultural production, the easing of drought conditions that impacted much of eastern and southern Africa in 2016 and early 2017—and a more supportive external environment.
While 15 out of 45 countries continue to grow at 5 percent or faster, growth in the region as a whole will barely surpass the rate of population growth, and in 12 countries, comprising over 40 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s population, income per capita is expected to decline in 2017.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_5255af7f9ac74f7f919f27efc5d9d795~mv2_d_1667_2150_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_190,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/a27d24_5255af7f9ac74f7f919f27efc5d9d795~mv2_d_1667_2150_s_2.jpg)
http://bit.ly/2pa1Xg1