Source: newsthemegh.com
In 2022, the combined public debt of African nations was $1.8 billion. This is stated in the Economic and Social Council’s 2023 report on the evaluation of Africa’s regional integration progress.
Nine (9) African countries were in debt distress and 12 countries were at high risk of debt distress in September 2023, according to the report, which also claims that African debt has climbed by 183% since 2010.
The survey also stated that “the African debt-to-GDP ratio will push to 63.5% in 2023 and 65% in 2024 due to soaring import costs, interest rates, and greater climate risks.”
The report states that regional integration is still essential for Africa to pursue sustainable and productive development, and that the degree to which the continent can profit from free markets and trade integration for the benefit of all Africans depends on how well the AfCFTA agreement is implemented.
Even while commerce under the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free commerce Area formally began on January 1, 2021, the research also points out that the anticipated changes in intra-African trade have not yet materialized.
The percentage of world trade attributed to intra-African trade decreased from 14.5% in 2021 to 13.7% in 2022.
In the same time frame, intra-African imports fell from 12.81% to 12.09%, while intra-African exports fell from 18.22% to 17.89% as a share of total exports.
In the meantime, merchandise commerce accounted for the majority of Africa’s less than 3% share of world trade.
Compared to 2021, merchandise exports climbed by 26.8% from $571.25 billion to $724.1 billion in 2022, while merchandise imports increased by 15.5% to $706 billion in 2022. This resulted in a trade balance surplus of $18.1 billion in 2022, a 145% gain over 2021.
These patterns suggest that African nations will likely keep trading more with the outside world than with one another.