Africa’s Economy: Trends, Challenges, Prospects and Potentials

Abstract

Africa has been considered as one of the fastest growing economies in recent times. The specific objectives of the study were; To identify the leading economies in Africa and the dynamics of their economies that is boosting growth, to identify the challenges of Africa’s development, and to identify prospects and opportunities in Africa. Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt were considered as the largest economies in Africa. The Service, Agriculture and Mining sectors supported the growth by these economies. Average unemployment rate in SSA from 1991-2014 was 8.4% whiles world rate was 6.1% and both unemployed female youth and adults were higher than their male counterparts. Some major challenges causing setbacks in economic developments were identified as Corruption, Poor Infrastructure, Political Instability, Capital flight and Tax evasion. Prospects were identified in energy, agriculture, and infrastructure sector which have enormous benefits to both investors and the people of Africa

Keywords: Africa, Growth, HDI, Natural Resources, GDP

JEL Code: N17, N47, N57, N77, O11, E24