Washington, June 10, 2025 (Lusa) - Cabo Verde leads economic growth in Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) this year, according to World Bank forecasts, which only places Equatorial Guinea in recession.
According to the Global Economic Prospects report released in Washington on Tuesday, Cabo Verde is expected to grow 5.9% this year, an upward revision of one percentage point from January's forecasts, making it the fastest growing Portuguese-speaking African economy this year and next, when it is expected to register a 5.3% expansion in GDP.
In the chapter on sub-Saharan Africa included in the report on the global economy, the World Bank stated that Guinea-Bissau, with projected growth rates of 5.1% and 5.2% this year and next, is the second-fastest-growing economy, maintaining its January forecast virtually unchanged.
The same is true for Sao Tome and Principe, which will see growth of 3.1% and 4.8% this year and next, with only a slight downward revision of 0.2 points for this year compared to the estimate made in the previous report in January.
Angola, the largest Portuguese-speaking economy in Africa, is expected to experience a significant slowdown in growth this year, from 4.4% in 2023 to 2.7% in 2024, representing a 0.2-point decrease compared to last year's forecast.
Mozambique is the country where the revision was strongest, one percentage point below the January estimate, which means that this country is expected to grow by only 3%.
Equatorial Guinea, despite a strong upward revision of 1.3 points, remains in recession and is expected to record negative growth of 3.1% this year, followed by growth of 0.6% next year.
At the regional level, the World Bank has revised downwards its growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa this year, now anticipating GDP growth of 3.7%, compared to the 4.2% estimated in January.
‘Growth this year and next is expected to be weaker than previously forecast, due to the deterioration of the external environment and internal headwinds,’ the report said.
In the document, the World Bank points out that the slowdown in African growth, which is still above the 3.5% recorded last year, is due to "high public debt, still high interest rates and rising debt servicing costs, which have reduced fiscal space, leading to fiscal consolidation efforts in many countries, especially as financing needs remain high due to cuts in development financing".
Globally, the World Bank forecasts growth of 2.3% this year, the lowest rate since 2008, excluding the recession years.
........................2025.....2026.....DifAngola..................2.7......2.6.....-0.2Cabo Verde..............5.9......5.3......1.0Guinea-Bissau............5.1......5.2......0.1Equatorial Guinea.......-3.1......0.6......1.3Mozambique..............3.0......3.5.....-1.0Sao Tome and Principe.....3.1......4.8.....-0.2SOURCE: Global Economic Outlook, June 2025Dif: Difference in percentage points from January forecast
MBA/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
