africa

Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
the global financial crisis, which were felt more in South Africa than in the other
African countries, and of the Arab Spring in the north. Net oil exporting countries
grew by 5.77 percent while net oil importers grew by 4.55 percent. Post-conflict
countries posted growth of 6.6 percent while fragile states grew by 3.6 percent over
the same period.
Figure 29.1: Real GDP Growth in Africa, 2005-15
Source: African Development Bank, Statistics Department.
Achievements in African education and health have been remarkable. Since 2000,
life expectancy at birth has risen by 10 percent across Sub-Saharan Africa, compared
to a rise of only 3 percent between 1980 and 2000. Adult literacy rates have
continued to rise, increasing by 9 percent since 2000 to 62 percent of the population,
building on a trend that saw 8 percent growth in literacy over the period 1985–2000.
The main drivers of Africa’s growth in the last decade have been: an increasing
domestic demand, an improvement in macroeconomic policy management and
governance, high commodity and agricultural prices, and financial inflows mainly
from remittances and foreign direct investments. The price of oil moved from US$25
per barrel in the mid-1980s to about US$145 per barrel in July 2008 before stabilizing
at about US$110 per barrel between 2009 and 2013.
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