A transitioning and diverse continent with huge trade and investment potential, Africa has made remarkable progress in a range of economic and development areas over the past two decades. With an estimated collective GDP of US$ 2.98 trillion in 2022, Africa is expected to cross US$ 3 trillion GDP by 2023. Well-endowed with abundant natural resources and diverse ecosystems, Africa offers a great market potential in the coming years. The continent accounts for about 30% of all global mineral reserves – including 42% of gold, 60% of cobalt, 80-90% of reserves of precious metals like chromium and platinum and 60% of the arable land. The continent contributes substantially to the global annual production of six key minerals - 80% of platinum, 77% of cobalt, 51% of manganese, 46% of diamonds, 39% of chromium, and 22% of gold. This is in addition to around 7% of global natural gas and 12% of world’s oil reserves. Africa also has the most important of all resources, human capital, with the continent accounting for 16% of the global population; 60% of whom are under the age of 25 years.
Africa is a diverse continent and is well endowed with various natural resources. About 30% of the global mineral reserves, 8% of global natural gas, 12% of the world’s oil reserves, 40% of the world’s gold and up to 90% of global chromium and platinum is concentrated in the region. During the last decade, Africa’s GDP has grown at a moderate rate of 3%. The economy contracted by 1.8% in 2020, after growing at 2.9% in 2019. Africa’s GDP is dominated by its commodity dependent regions, the largest being North Africa. In 2021, Nigeria had the highest GDP of US$ 518.5 billion at constant 2015 prices among all the African countries.
High inflation is perceived as one the most urgent challenges in Africa. The average annual inflation of 14.5% in the region is much higher than the world average of 8.8% in 2022. While inflation in Africa has been persistently high over the years, the surge in the recent years is attributed to the external global developments since the start of the pandemic.
The study focuses on the Central American countries comprising of- Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Dominican Republic which together constitute the Central America Integration System (SICA). The GDP of Central American countries which stood at US$ 35.3 billion in 1980 has grown more than twelve folds to reach US$ 428.4 billion in 2022. Based on the GDP size, Dominican Republic, followed by Guatemala and Panama are the largest economies of the region. The global economic disruptions caused by of the pandemic severely affected the region. The countries in the region, however, immediately responded to the crisis by implementing a host of measures in response to the pandemic, including lockdowns and curfews, additional funding and equipment for public health services, direct payments to individuals and families, and stimulus packages for small and medium-sized businesses, all with varying degrees of success. In 2021-22, the economies witnessed a strong rebound as the impact of the pandemic reduced, and vaccination around the world aided gradual reopening of economies.