Ethiopian Review

ADDIS ABABA – Despite the global economic downturn, a new report released by the United Nations this week projected that Ethiopia along with four other East African countries will maintain moderately robust growth in 2009 and 2010.

The 2009 African Economic Outlook, co-produced by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said that Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda will have healthy economic growth.

The report said that these countries had the fastest growing economies in east Africa for 2008. The countries’ growth is to be sustainable since “the demand for their major agricultural and horticultural exports is less sensitive to the effects of the crisis,” according to the report.

Similarly, a different report by the African Development Bank recently indicated a strong growth prospects to the horn of African nations for 2009.

“East Africa will come safely through the global financial crisis and record a growth rate of at least 5% this year, the highest on the continent” it said.

The 2009 African Economic Outlook which covered 47 African countries, up from 35 last year, indicates that the global economic slump gravely affected economies of African countries.

Following half a decade of above 5 percent economic growth, the continent can expect only 2.8 percent average growth in 2009, less than half of the 5.7 percent expected before the crisis, it said.

Ethiopia has said it expects growth rate of around 10 percent in 2009. However, the International Monetary Fund has predicted it down at 6.5 percent.

With relative political stability and a high demand for its resources from countries such as China, the horn of Africa’s region has enjoyed good growth for most of this decade like much of the other African regions.

- Sudan Tribune