The Chief Economist for the Africa Region at the World Bank, Andrew Dabalen, has emphasized the potential wealth increase of African families by 35% if growth had been sustained over the past 14 years.

These insights were shared during discussions on the World Bank’s Africa Pulse Report for April 2024.

In an interview with Bernard Avle on Citi TV's Point of View program, Mr Dabalen noted the challenges of maintaining growth rates in Africa over an extended period, despite lower growth rates compared to other regions.

He highlighted that Africa's ability to reduce poverty through growth is only half of the global average and pointed out differences in economic recovery durations between Africa and East Asia.

Mr Dabalen drew comparisons with East Asia, noting that economic recovery in Africa tends to be short-lived, whereas in East Asia, it persists for a longer duration before faltering.

This observation underscores the economic resilience and sustainability disparities between the two regions.

He concluded by noting that Africa's growth rate reduces poverty at a slower pace compared to other regions, particularly East Asia, which experiences much higher poverty reduction rates.

“Africa’s growth has been traditionally low compared to other regions being in the same situation as Africa, such as East Asia for instance. And it has been very difficult to sustain over a long period of time. Countries in Asia and Africa went through a recession, there’s an economic downturn we have had the experience.

“Let’s say there’s a recovery, the recovery in Africa lasts maybe three years and then a shock comes, and it falters. It doesn’t sustain. Recovery in East Asia takes about eight years before it falters, that is a huge difference.

He added, “Not only do you find Africa’s growth is lower, but you also find it is not sustained over a long period. And because of that, it’s extremely costly. If Africa’s growth was sustained at the rate at which it grew, it’s not high, but even if it was sustained between 2002 and 2014, that window of 14 years, African families would be 35% richer than they are now. That is the kind of things that give you a sense of how completely costly this low growth has been.

“The speed at which Africa’s growth reduces poverty is only half of what we see in the rest of the world. East Asia is much higher.”