The Economic Report on Africa (ERA) is the flagship annual publication of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). It is a comprehensive analytical report that reviews Africa’s economic performance and prospects, focusing on key structural issues such as trade, industrialization, finance, technology, governance, and regional integration.
Economic Report on Africa (ERA) 2025 stresses that the AfCFTA’s implementation is the central structural opportunity for Africa in 2025 — it can drive trade-led integration, industrialisation, digital trade and job creation but implementation gaps (infrastructure, rules, financing, non-tariff barriers) limit current gains. Multilateral forecasts show Africa’s aggregate growth improving from 2024 but constrained by global trade shocks (tariffs, aid cuts) and food/security risks; AfDB 2025 growth projections for Africa are modest (around 3.9% in 2025) and subject to downside risks.
Uganda (2025) is outperforming the continental average: real GDP growth is robust (official and multilateral estimates cluster between ~6.1% and ~6.8% for FY2024/25 and 2025 projections), low inflation (<5%), improved export receipts (Coffee, Gold), rising extractives/O&G investment and steady FDI. However fiscal space, revenue mobilization and external risks remain binding constraints.
The AfCFTA is a pivotal opportunity for Africa to boost intra-African trade, diversify economies, and enhance industrialization. It has the potential to increase intra-African trade by 45 per cent in 2045, with significant gains in manufacturing, agro-processing, and services. The AfCFTA is expected to raise Africa's GDP by 1.2 per cent and welfare by 0.9 per cent in 2045. However, high inflation, fiscal deficits, and debt vulnerabilities remain significant barriers to growth. Africa's debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to decline from 67.3 per cent in 2023 to 62.1 per cent in 2025, but debt servicing costs remain prohibitively high, crowding out development outlays. The AfCFTA can help address continent’s key challenges like energy gaps and food insecurity by fostering cross-border trade in energy products and encouraging African countries to adopt renewable energy technologies. This, in turn, can spur industrialization, technology adoption, and agro-processing as well as move Africa up in global value chains (GVCs). Implementing climate policies could boost Africa’s renewable energy usage by 5–12 per cent by 2045. The AfCFTA can also tackle food insecurity by enhancing food market integration and boosting intra-African food trade, helping reduce the impact of climatic events on production and prices. In the short-term, ERA recommends fast-tracking a 12-month “AfCFTA readiness” package (trade facilitation, SPS/standards roadmap, one-stop border pilots on key corridors, private sector matchmaking for regional value chains).
For more insights about this Report, please visit the link below: