The World Bank has raised its growth forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa to 4.3 percent for 2026, up from an earlier 4.1 percent estimate, in its latest Africa Economic Update released October 8, according to a report by Forbes Africa. Moody's moved in step, upgrading the region's sovereign credit outlook to positive and projecting that government debt across the region will fall from 62.4 percent of GDP in 2025 to 56.6 percent by 2027.
World Bank Chief Economist for Africa Andrew Dabalen said the upward revisions reflected "broad-based gains" spanning "both resource-rich and more diversified economies, as well as oil exporters and oil importers," rather than a bounce concentrated in any one type of economy. Angola, Benin, Botswana, Ethiopia, the Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe each saw growth projections lifted by more than half a percentage point, while Comoros, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sudan were revised down due to country-specific pressures.
The improved outlook came with a caveat: medium-term inflation forecasts were revised up, from 3.7 percent to 5.5 percent, as persistently high debt-service costs continue to crowd out public spending across much of the region. The report also singled out artificial intelligence as a potential lever for agricultural productivity gains and broader structural transformation, while cautioning that the payoff depends on closing substantial gaps in electricity supply, computing capacity, data infrastructure and skilled workers, gaps that remain wide across most African markets today.