The Africa Competitiveness Report 2017

Published on a biennial basis, The Africa Competitiveness Report highlights areas requiring policy action and investment to ensure that Africa lays a solid foundation for sustained and inclusive growth. The Report, which is the result of a longstanding collaboration, leverages the knowledge and expertise of the African Development Bank, the World Bank Group, and the World Economic Forum to present a joint policy vision that can help Africa transform its economies.

By conducting a comprehensive analysis of Africa’s most pressing competitiveness challenges, the Report discusses the barriers and challenges to putting Africa’s economies onto a solid footing and helping them to achieve sustainable, broad based growth, taking into account rapid demographic changes. Africa’s working-age population is expected to soar by 450 million people, or close to 70 percent, by 2035. The Report examines how this population growth can either help to achieve broader shared prosperity and improve the livelihood of African people or become a source of fragility, social tension, and economic hardships. It does so by examining the potential of Africa’s fast-growing youth population to catalyze economic development through accelerating rates of job creation. It also discusses the potential of cities to transform, strengthen, and diversify Africa’s economies by creating more dynamic urban manufacturing and service sectors. The Report emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the youth of today and tomorrow possess the skills they need to build vibrant and inclusive economies. It further delivers detailed competitiveness profiles for 35 African countries, and provides a comprehensive summary of the drivers of productivity and competitiveness within the continent.