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Explore Sub Regions

• Eastern & Southern Africa
• Western & Central Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a highly diverse region that includes low-, lower-middle-, upper-middle-, and high-income countries. It also includes 20 fragile or conflict-affected countries and 13 small states with small populations, limited human capital, and constrained land area. With rich natural resources, the world’s largest free trade area, and a 1.2 billion-person market, the continent has the potential to chart a new development path by harnessing its resources and people.

According to the latest regional economic update, growth in SSA is projected to rise from 3.3 percent in 2024 to 3.5 percent in 2025 and accelerate to 4.3 percent in 2026–27. However, the incidence and severity of conflict and violence increased in 2024 and early 2025, driving acute food insecurity and a rise in food emergencies.

An estimated 120 million Africans currently face acute food insecurity, 80 percent of whom live in conflict-affected countries. This situation is likely to be exacerbated by reduced official development assistance for emergency response.

About 464 million people in the region were still living in extreme poverty in 2024. Debt vulnerabilities remain elevated, with 53 percent of IDA-eligible countries at high risk of or already in debt distress.

Expected per capita growth of 1.8 percent on average in 2025–27 will help reduce poverty only modestly. After peaking at 43.9 percent in 2025, the share of people living on $2.15 per day (2017 PPP) is projected to decline to 43.2 percent by 2027. Limited investment in income-generating sectors for the poor, lingering effects of past inflation, and likely reductions in donor aid will continue to constrain poverty reduction.

Africa can also lay the groundwork for more inclusive growth by investing in its people. Over the next three decades, the region will experience the fastest increase in working-age population of any region, with a net increase of about 740 million people by 2050. Up to 12 million youth will enter the labor market each year, yet only about 3 million new formal wage jobs are currently created annually. As economies recover in the years ahead, policy should aim to share the benefits of growth more widely by investing in human capital, fostering economic diversification, and promoting jobs-friendly growth.

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