Growth in sub-Saharan Africa has weakened after more than a decade of solid growth, although this overall outlook masks considerable variation across the region. Some countries have been negatively affected by falling prices of their main commodity exports. Oil-exporting countries, including...

The massive external debt burden of Sub-Saharan Africa has gained widespread attention as a serious policy issue during the past few years. This paper reviews recent trends in the debt levels and economic performance of Sub-Saharan countries and assesses a number of proposals for reducing their...

Member countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community are recovering from the global financial crisis, although growth in 2011 has not returned to precrisis levels. Executive Directors welcomed the region’s economic recovery from the global financial crisis and its overall...

This paper discusses the common policies adopted by the members of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). The macroeconomic performance was good in 2011 with improved fiscal balances, public investment programs, and higher reserves. However, CEMAC is facing challenges from...

This paper analyzes the causes of growth of Africa’s debt burden, and discusses the factors that induced African countries to seek external loans as well as the factors affecting the supply of external financing. The paper studies the development of some measures of debt burden for different...

Since the mid-1970s the annual inflation rate in Africa has averaged more than 15 percent, with many countries experiencing rates of 20 percent or more. Inflation rates of this magnitude have significant adverse effects on the financial sectors of African countries, particularly in the context...

The five Regional Economic Outlooks published biannually by the IMF cover Asia and Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Western Hemisphere. In each volume, recent economic developments and prospects for the region are discussed as a whole, as well as for...

This report focuses on IMF Technical Assistance Evaluation—Public Expenditure Management (PEM) Reform in Selected African Countries. Most of the countries examined were colonies of the United Kingdom, inheriting similar and relatively simple budget systems based on an interpretation of the...