Africa to outperform in 2013

Growth across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has held up relatively well in the last few months of 2012. This is despite a weak global backdrop and the continued sluggish performance of South Africa, the region’s largest economy. Looking ahead to 2013, SSA will not be immune from mounting global headwinds. But domestic demand should help to offset external weakness in most countries, and there is scope for policy easing too if needed. In addition, continued exploration of and investment in natural resource sectors should boost output in some of the region’s smaller economies. Accordingly, despite a challenging global backdrop, we expect SSA to grow by around 4.5% next year. This would make it the second-fastest-growing emerging market region after Asia.