According to McKinsey, Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa were to blame for 65% of the decline in Africa’s GDP.
The paper, “Reimagining Economic Growth in Africa: Turning Diversity into Opportunity,” said that if the three countries had maintained their growth rate between 2000 and 2010, Africa’s GDP by 2019 should have hit $3 trillion rather than $2.6 trillion.
According to the report, “Had Africa’s GDP grown at the rate it did from 2000 to 2010, its GDP in 2019 would have been $3 trillion instead of $2.6 trillion.
The ‘big three’ economies of Africa, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria, which have all experienced recent slowdowns, account for fully 65% of this difference. The company claims that Africa is the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, yet its economic performance has lagged.
“McKinsey also noted that Nigeria’s economic decline had the largest impact on Africa’s slowdown with the country’s service sector responsible for 30 per cent of the continent’s slowing economic pace.