Middle East and Africa

RGE's Q1 2010 Outlook

Middle East and North Africa: The improvement in commodity prices and the unlocking of global capital markets and trade has brightened the prospects of economies in the Middle East and North Africa beginning in H2 2009. In aggregate, the fall in capital inflows from reduced oil revenues, trade volume and portfolio and direct investment led to a significant slowdown in 2009. All economies suffered slowdowns in the pace of growth while Kuwait and the UAE suffered economic contractions exacerbated by their financial exposures. Ample foreign assets facilitated expansionary policies, limiting the decline.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is expected to experience a growth rebound in 2010 after emerging from the food and fuel price spikes in mid 2008 and the global recession. In 2009, the region experienced a sharp slowdown in growth to around 1%, well below recent trends of 6%, due to the higher cost and reduced access to capital, lower trade volumes and reduced remittances. Some major economies like South Africa and Botswana experienced negative growth while others faced significant slowdowns from recent trends. Insulation from global financial markets, improvement of economic policies since the year 2000, and support of multilateral donors like the IMF helped cushion the region from the financial crisis.

Read the Q1 2010 Middle East and North Africa Outlook.

Read the Q1 2010 Sub-Saharan Africa Outlook.