Sierra Leone: Real GDP in West and Central Africa is estimated to have contracted by 1.1 percent in 2020, less than projected in the October 2020 Africa’s Pulse forecast, partly owing to a less severe contraction than expected in Nigeria, the region’s largest economy, in the second half of the year.
In the rest of the sub-region, economic activity steadied in the second half of the year, but with differences between countries. Growth slowed sharply but remained positive among West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries, reflecting their relatively more diversified economic structure.
Output contractions in Burkina Faso and Mali were offset by expansions in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. In contrast, growth remained largely negative among Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) countries. Due to their heavier reliance on oil exports, subdued oil prices and declining output volumes kept economic activity depressed.
In countries outside WAEMU and CEMAC, performance was similarly uneven. With an estimated contraction of 18.2 percent year-on-year in 2020Q3, Cabo Verde has been among the harder hit countries by the pandemic owing to its dependence on tourism.
While containment and lockdown have hurt all sectors, tourism has been affected the most by the COVID-19 crisis. Data from the World Tourism Organization indicate that international tourist arrivals in Sub-Saharan Africa fell by 78 percent year-on-year in December, and this adverse impact has been particularly strong on island economies.
In The Gambia, which also has an important tourism sector, robust agricultural growth, thanks to favorable rains, helped offset a sharp fall in tourist arrivals, but the economy remained fragile. In the countries with a large mining sector, a recovery in industrial metals prices, driven by increased demand from China, supported a rebound in activity in the second half of 2020.
Guinea and Ghana registered positive GDP growth in 2020 overall, owing to recovering bauxite demand from China (Guinea) and rising gold prices as well as higher agricultural production. However, weaker domestic demand prevented a stronger rebound in Ghana. Meanwhile, reduced mineral production due to mine closures weighed on growth in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In Mauritania, recovering iron ore demand was offset by a sharp decline in fish exports.
ZIJ/15/04/2021