1 John Page, Chief Economist Africa Region, World Bank October 31, 2006 EIGHT THINGS YOU (MAY NOT) KNOW ABOUT AFRICA

2 1.AFRICA’S GROWTH RATES ARE CATCHING UP TO OTHER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

3 African per capita income is now increasing in tandem with other developing countries … Annual Change in Real per capita GDP % Forecast 2008 Source: World Bank

4 … growth has improved since the 1980’s

5 2. ECONOMIC OUTCOMES ARE INCREASINGLY DIVERSE, WHILE SOCIAL OUTCOMES ARE CONVERGING

6 Africa’s growth experience increasingly diverse

7 SOCIAL OUTCOMES ARE CONVERGING

8 3.PRODUCTIVITY IN AFRICA’S BEST PERFORMERS (AND BEST FIRMS) EQUALS ASIAN COMPETITORS

9 Africa’s best performers are on par with India, Vietnam

10 Factory floor costs compare well with India & China Direct cost per male shirt

11 4. AFRICA IS A HIGH COST PLACE TO INVEST BUT LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE MAY CONSTRAIN INVESTMENT MORE

12 Ease of doing business rank, Simple average by region Data sources: The World Bank Doing Business Database, 2005 survey. Africa lags other regions in the cost of doing business … Building the private sector

13 Data sources: The World Bank WDI database, April …and in access to infrastructure Building the private sector

14 5. SUCCESS INCREASING PRIMARY ENROLLMENTS IS NOT MIRRORED IN SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION.

15 Gross primary enrollment rate has risen sharply

16 Africa lags in secondary and tertiary education

17 6. MORTALITY AND LIFE EXPECTANCY HAVE REGRESSED TO LEVELS OF PREVIOUS DECADES

18 LIFE Expectancy And Mortality

19 Malaria has not received adequate attention and is a major cause of death of children

20 7. INEQUALITY LIMITS THE BENEFITS OF GROWTH TO THE POOR

21 The Poor as Percent of Total Population and Inequality: Data sources: The World Bank Global Poverty Monitoring Database Inequality limits the benefits of growth to the poor

22 Rural-urban divide in access to improved water source Data sources: Africa Region Household Survey Standardized Files. And the rural-urban divide remains dramatic

23 8. INTERNATIONAL FOCUS ON AFRICA IS GROWING BUT STILL FALLS SHORT OF 1990 AND THE GLENEAGLES TARGETS

24 Data sources and WBI database. International focus on Africa is growing, but still falls short of 1990

25 … and changes in ODA composition were significant

26 Africa Development Indicators ‘06 Office of the Chief Economist Africa Region, World Bank