Dakar is the political and financial capital of Senegal. (Photo: wikimedia)
Coming in third on the list of the IMF’s new World Economic Outlook for Africa, Senegal is one of the most politically stable countries in Africa. With an impressive and steady growth rate of 6.5 percent since 2003, its economic outlook remains favorable in the short-term with growth projected to reach 6.6 percent in 2016.
The main drivers of Senegal’s economic growth, according to the World Bank, include higher private sector demand stimulated by lower energy and transport prices, as well as the ambitious public investment programme carried out by the government. Services remained a major engine of growth, contributing over one-third of the economic expansion, while the industrial and agricultural sectors accounted for almost 34 percent of GDP growth in 2015.
Lessons:
The country that places a premium on many well-developed streams of national income and runs the different sectors proficiently will enjoy not only a stable economic growth profile but also develop rapidly with time.
