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Africa-wide
Population: n/a million GNI: n/a million Debt: n/a million
Africa-wide
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/56/AFRICA-WIDE
Algeria
Population: 36.5 mn. million GDP: $206.5 bn. million Debt: $5.3 bn. million
Protests will continue but but the government – with nearly US$200 billion in foreign reserves thanks to high oil and gas prices – will seek to buy off trouble. Politicians will focus on 2014, when President Abdelaziz Bouteflika should step down. Algerian security is losing control of its old Sahel fiefs.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/1/ALGERIA
Angola
Population: 20.2 mn. million GDP: 114.8 bn. million Debt: 18.6 bn. million
The Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola easily scored an easy victory in the 2012 elections but protests are likely over worsening inequality. Vice-President Manuel Vicente, former Chief Executive Officer of the state oil company Sonangol, remains favourite to succeed President José Eduardo dos Santos although his son José Filomeno de Sousa ‘Zenú’ is also a contender.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/2/ANGOLA
Benin
Population: 9.4 mn. million GDP: 7.5 bn. million Debt: 1.2 bn. million
President Thomas Yayi Boni is getting more authoritarian as he tries to change constitution to get third term in 2016. His chairmanship of the African Union, ending in January, and the lack of a strong opposition will encourage him but will not help to restore his shrinking popularity.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/3/BENIN
Botswana
Population: 1.9 mn. million GDP: 17.6 bn. million Debt: 1.7 bn. million
President Ian Khama will keep the Botswana Democratic Party together and staunch losses to the breakaway Botswana Movement for Democracy. Diamond output will rise due to stronger markets which, coupled with a start on large-scale coal export, will raise GDP growth to 5.2%.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/4/BOTSWANA
Burkina Faso
Population: 17.4 mn. million GDP: 10.3 bn. million Debt: 2.1 bn. million
Easy victories in local elections in December 2012 showed that President Blaise Compaoré's regime has rebuilt support after the army mutinies that shook Burkina Faso in 2011. Compaoré will try to engineer another term in 2015 but faces a lively challenge from former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Zéphirin Diabré. Prime Minister Luc-Adolphe Tiao is under pressure on services and living standards.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/5/BURKINA_FASO
Burundi
Population: 8.8 mn. million GDP: 2.5 bn. million Debt: 0.5 bn. million
President Pierre Nkurunziza's crackdown on gays and journalists will continue amid some donor disquiet. The army will remain in control of most of the territory since Agathon Rwasa's Forces nationales de libération guerrilla fighters pose little serious threat, despite having rear bases in Congo-Kinshasa.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/6/BURUNDI
Cameroon
Population: 21.5 mn. million GDP: 24.5 bn. million Debt: 3 bn. million
Senatorial elections will finally take place, sixteen years after a constitutional amendment created a senate house. Local elections postponed last year will also be held by June and the 80-year-old President Paul Biya and his Rassemblement démocratique du peuple camerounais will make yet another clean sweep. The lack of a succession strategy is causing concern.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/7/CAMEROON
Cape Verde
Population: 0.5 mn. million GDP: 1.9 bn. million Debt: 0.9 bn. million
The government struggles to bolster the economy. Tourism is slowly recovering. Trade unions call protests for a minimum wage, which they're unlikely to get. The two main parties, the Partido Africano de Independência de Cabo Verde and Movimento para a Democracia, are looking for new leaders.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/8/CAPE_VERDE
Central African Republic
Population: 4.9 mn. million GDP: 2.2 bn. million Debt: 0.4 bn. million
General François Bozizé's job is on the line after the Séléka rebellion. The government of national unity agreed at the talks in January 2013 in Libreville will constrain President Bozizé because he cannot officially sack its leader. Bozizé's term in office will expire in January 2016 at the latest.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/9/CENTRAL_AFRICAN_REPUBLIC
Chad
Population: 10.7 mn. million GDP: 9.7 bn. million Debt: 1.7 bn. million
The strength President Idriss Déby Itno derived from the Central African Republic crisis will not last and has made neighbours fear his interference. Clientelism will grow and weaken the economy. Ripples from the Mali crisis could also hit the President. Despite reforms, the army is more ethnically exclusive than ever.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/10/CHAD
Comoros
Population: 0.7 mn. million GDP: 0.6 bn. million Debt: 0.5 bn. million
Infighting has made life difficult for President
Ikililou Dhoinine. The government moves slowly on corruption and has cracked down on the independent press. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are giving US$176 million in debt relief, but the scope for economic growth remains very limited.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/11/COMOROS
Congo-Brazzaville
Population: 4 mn. million GDP: 13.7 bn. million Debt: 3.8 bn. million
President Denis Sassou-Nguesso can expect little challenge from a weak opposition, nor much scrutiny of oil revenue management by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The governing Parti Congolais du Travail will continue to coopt politicians and China will continue to build more prestige projects which have little developmental impact.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/12/CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE
Congo-Kinshasa
Population: 74.7 mn. million GDP: 17.7 bn. million Debt: 5.8 bn. million
Support for the Kivu rebels by Rwanda and Uganda will militate against a political resolution there. Instability may spread, given the further weakening of the military. Foreign mining companies which made opaque deals with President Joseph Kabila could come under threat.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/53/CONGO-KINSHASA
Côte d'Ivoire
Population: 23.4 mn. million GDP: 24.3 bn. million Debt: 11.4 bn. million
Ongoing attacks in Abidjan and the unruly West will hamper reconstruction. Regional and local elections early in 2013 will test President Alassane Dramane Ouattara’s popularity. With ex-President Laurent Gbagbo at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, a sense of ‘victor’s justice’ persists, but presidential hopeful and ex-rebel leader Guillaume Soro may also face an ICC arrest warrant .
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/13/C%c3%94TE_D%27IVOIRE
Djibouti
Population: 0.9 mn. million GDP: 1.4 bn. million Debt: 0.8 bn. million
The expansion of the United States' military base and of drone use will afford a measure of security to President Ismail Omar Guelleh and finance his regime. His sending of troops to Somalia will prove unpopular and opposition will grow.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/15/DJIBOUTI
East Africa
Population: n/a million GNI: n/a million Debt: n/a million
East Africa
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/61/EAST_AFRICA
Egypt
Population: 82 mn. million GDP: 255 bn. million Debt: 34.8 bn. million
Clashes between President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brothers and political secularists will continue. Delayed legislative elections will be another flashpoint. Mursi's failings on the economy could prove the most dangerous to him since his ministers are supposed to impose cuts on state subsidies and salaries in exchange for vital International Monetary Fund financing.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/16/EGYPT
Equatorial Guinea
Population: 1.4 mn. million GDP: 20.6 bn. million Debt: n/a million
Succession talk will again dominate politics as President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo attempts to prepare way for his eldest son, Teodorin, to take over, perhaps before the elections due in 2016. Teodorin, however, will be harrassed by corruption probes in France, Spain and the United States. President Obiang tries to burnish his public image but oppositionists insist he remains as corrupt and oppressive as before.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/17/EQUATORIAL_GUINEA
Eritrea
Population: 5.7 mn. million GDP: 3.1 bn. million Debt: 1.0 bn. million
President Issayas Aferwerki will make more trips to Qatar for medical treatment. Yet he keeps control, with no obvious rival in the wings. Ethiopia's new leadership may prove less hostile. Inflation will rise and the promised rises in public sector pay will fall short.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/18/ERITREA
Ethiopia
Population: 88.9 mn. million GDP: 41.9 bn. million Debt: 7.1 bn. million
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will face a critical year of transition with a party vote in February to pick the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front election team for 2015. He will have to establish his technocratic style. Protests by Muslim groups and unrest in the Ogaden may provide flashpoints.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/19/ETHIOPIA
Gabon
Population: 1.5 mn. million GDP: 16.8 bn. million Debt: 2.3 bn. million
President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba will rule unchallenged but his government will struggle to win the public over to Singapore's Olam’s agribusiness plans and other big projects. The government launched an oil company in December 2012 and hopes that agribusiness and new infrastructure spending will boost GDP growth to over 7% in 2013.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/20/GABON
Gambia
Population: 1.8 mn. million GDP: 0.9 bn. million Debt: 0.5 bn. million
President Yahya Jammeh will try to sanitise his regime's image as political and military dissidents proliferate and aid threatens to fall. The international campaign to expose human rights abuses and corruption may be more focused this year. Tourism, which amounts to about 20% of GDP, will suffer from the European economic downturn.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/21/GAMBIA
Ghana
Population: 24.9 mn. million GDP: 40.1 bn. million Debt: 8.4 bn. million
Newly elected President John Dramani Mahama will move swiftly to appoint a new cabinet and speed up oil, gas and electric power plans. Hearings by the Supreme Court of the opposition's challenge to Mahama's election will rumble on but are unlikely to result in fresh elections. The governing National Democratic Congress will adopt a more conciliatory style under Mahama. Relations with Côte d'Ivoire should improve.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/22/GHANA
Guinea
Population: 10.9 mn. million GDP: 5.7 bn. million Debt: 2.9 bn. million
Long-delayed parliamentary elections are planned for May, but if there is no deal with opposition parties they will again be postponed. President Alpha Condé's government will win plaudits for its macroeconomic reforms but come under critical scrutiny for the lack of transparency in iron ore and other mineral deals. Chinese companies are likely to benefit from new mining concession deals.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/23/GUINEA
Guinea Bissau
Population: 1.7 mn. million GDP: 0.9 bn. million Debt: 1.1 bn. million
International institutions will be reluctant to recognise the Economic Community of West African States-backed transitional government. They will agree, however, to support elections, which are likely to be won by the Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde. Political instability will continue. Economic improvements will depend on political reforms and a degree of stability.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/24/GUINEA_BISSAU
Kenya
Population: 42.1 mn. million GDP: 41.8 bn. million Debt: 8.4 bn. million
Prime Minister Raila Odinga is the favourite to win the presidency in the March elections but he will struggle to implement his ambitious reforms. If his International Criminal Court-indicted rivals Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto were to win, Kenya would plunge into crisis. More security threats loom in the Coast and North-East
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/25/KENYA
Lesotho
Population: 2.0 mn. million GDP: 2.6 bn. million Debt: 0.7 bn. million
Premier Tom Thabane’s coalition will seek closer ties with South Africa to boost the benefits from the water-sharing deal. The economy, which is increasingly dependent on Asian-owned textile factories and United States tariff concessions, needs help. Prolonged drought, followed by heavy rains and flooding, have devastated harvests, creating widespread food insecurity across the mountain kingdom.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/26/LESOTHO
Liberia
Population: 4.0 mn. million GDP: 1.8 bn. million Debt: 0.2 bn. million
The record of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's government on economic policy and attracting investment will continue to win international praise but
domestic doubts will grow. Liberian voters are looking beyond
reconstruction and consolidation. Gripes about vested interests in the
legislature and accusations of nepotism are likely to increase.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/27/LIBERIA
Libya
Population: 6.6 mn. million GDP: 85.1 bn. million Debt: n/a million
In direct elections to a constitution-making body, federalists, Islamists and ethnic minorities are expected to do well. General elections may be postponed until the last quarter of 2013. Security problems could worsen outside Tripoli and the economy will remain dominated by oil and gas.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/28/LIBYA
Madagascar
Population: 22.4 mn. million GDP: 10.1 bn. million Debt: 2.3 bn. million
A presidential election is due in May. Following international pressure, both the putschist President of the Haute autorité de la transition, Andry Rajoelina, and his rival, yoghurt magnate and ex-President Marc Ravalomanana, have agreed not to take part. This allows the regime to mend fences with international institutions and so restore the economy. On paper, the election looks wide open but few candidates are likely to threaten Rajoelina’s interests.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/29/MADAGASCAR
Malawi
Population: 16.3 mn. million GDP: 4.5 bn. million Debt: 0.9 bn. million
Winning acceptance is proving more difficult for President Joyce Banda at home than abroad. The International Monetary Fund-backed devaluation and high fuel prices are causing increasing unrest. Capital inflows are poor and the President's political future depends on her securing a wider political base.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/30/MALAWI
Mali
Population: 16.3 mn. million GDP: 9.6 bn. million Debt: 2.3 bn. million
The military offensive by Malian, West African and French forces to retake the north from Islamist fighters will dominate the coming months. If the jihadists lose control of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, they may launch a more mobile insurgency. Pressure for a national political dialogue will grow.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/31/MALI
Mauritania
Population: 3.6 mn. million GDP: 4.1 bn. million Debt: 2.5 bn. million
Western criticism of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's rule has softened as the country sought an ally against Islamist incursions across the Sahel. Yet doubts that Abdel Aziz can hold his regime together will grow. Drought undermines food security but government will try to boost the economy by oil and mineral exploitation.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/32/MAURITANIA
Mauritius
Population: 1.3 mn. million GDP: 11.9 bn. million Debt: 1.1 bn. million
Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam’s Labour Party is vulnerable but there is little sign that the new opposition alliance can force him out before elections due in 2015. Income from Western tourists is slumping and a row with India over double taxation threatens offshore banking.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/33/MAURITIUS
Morocco
Population: 32.5 mn. million GDP: 97.2 bn. million Debt: 25.4 bn. million
King Mohammed VI and his Islamist Premier Abdelilah Benkirane must boost jobs and living conditions, while maintaining the pace of reform. The Mouvement du 20 février and the unrecognised Islamist Al Adl wal Ihsane are weaker but economic hardship could prompt more protest.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/34/MOROCCO
Mozambique
Population: 22.5 mn. million GDP: 14.6 bn. million Debt: 4.1 bn. million
President Armando Guebuza must leave office next year, so the succession race will heat up. Mayoral elections are due in the only two cities not controlled by the governing Frente de Libertação de Moçambique. Investment in coal exports should produce a boom.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/35/MOZAMBIQUE
Namibia
Population: 2.2 mn. million GDP: 12.1 bn. million Debt: 26 bn. million
Hage Geingob is confirmed as President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s preferred successor. He will see off SWAPO Youth League pressure for radical economic policies and boost investor confidence. Higher diamond and uranium output – and the construction of the Chinese-owned Husab uranium mine – will raise GDP growth to some 5.4%.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/36/NAMIBIA
Niger
Population: 15.6 mn. million GDP: 6.6 bn. million Debt: 1.1 bn. million
The security of the north-western border will be the biggest challenge, as the struggle against the jihadists continues in Mali: President Mahamadou Issoufou has pledged to send some 500 troops. Economic prospects look more positive, thanks to oil self-sufficiency. The government hopes for Western support for northern development.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/37/NIGER
Nigeria
Population: 165 mn. million GDP: 273 bn. million Debt: 7.9 bn. million
Growth will falter as security worries increase in the north and Middle Belt. Criticism will grow of President Goodluck Jonathan and Oil Minister Diezani Allison-Madueke's management of the oil industry. The military will be tested hard at home against Boko Haram and in Mali. Northern politicians will organise against Jonathan's government
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/38/NIGERIA
Rwanda
Population: 10.4 mn. million GDP: 7.0 bn. million Debt: 0.8 bn. million
Negotiations over international aid, suspended due to Kigali’s support for rebels in Congo-Kinshasa, will dominate Western efforts. Talks in Kampala between rebels and the Kinshasa government will continue. Rwanda will use its position on the United Nations Security Council to mend relations with the United States and Britain, as worries about an economic slowdown hit home.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/39/RWANDA
São Tomé & Príncipe
Population: 0.2 mn. million GDP: 0.3 bn. million Debt: 0.2 bn. million
Chinese companies will reconsider their interest in São Tomé's Joint Development Zone with Nigeria. Ebbing oil prospects could help end instability and constant reshuffles.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/40/S%c3%83O_TOM%c3%89_%26_PR%c3%8dNCIPE
Senegal
Population: 13.8 mn. million GDP: 14 bn. million Debt: 3.7 bn. million
President Macky Sall's government will focus on consolidating power and economic recovery. Trying those who stole money under the previous government will be essential, as will boosting workers' purchasing power.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/41/SENEGAL
Seychelles
Population: 0.1 mn. million GDP: 1 bn. million Debt: 1.5 bn. million
The relative slowdown of Somali-based piracy in the Indian Ocean should bring dividends, increasing French and Spanish fishing catches and reviving the local canning industry. An active tourism policy should boost earnings.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/42/SEYCHELLES
Sierra Leone
Population: 6.2 mn. million GDP: 3.8 bn. million Debt: 0.8 bn. million
The economy will continue to grow steadily as the government and International Monetary Fund revise predictions downwards. Re-elected in November 2012, President Ernest Bai Koroma will carry on with the investment in infrastructure. Fiscal discipline is likely to slacken as he faces a weakened opposition.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/43/SIERRA_LEONE
Somalia
Population: 9.6 mn. million GDP: 0.9 bn. million Debt: 2.9 bn. million
Al Shabaab will open a new front in the north and increase attacks at home and in Kenya. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will try to diversify from Western support, turning to his Islamist allies in Qatar and Turkey. Inflation will rise sharply.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/44/SOMALIA
South Africa
Population: 51.2 mn. million GDP: 390 bn. million Debt: 45.2 bn. million
Cyril Ramaphosa's return to politics will dominate the year as he becomes head of government business. President Jacob Zuma is determined stand again in 2014 and African National Congress dissidents will be gradually squeezed out.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/45/SOUTH_AFRICA
South Sudan
Population: 10.4 mn. million GDP: 11.4 bn. million Debt: n/a million
Oil exports may restart but the economic problems will not end. Aid, investment and trade will help, especially the Juba elite. President Salva Kiir Mayardit's government will again prioritise security, focusing on managing ethnic conflict and relations with Khartoum.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/62/SOUTH_SUDAN
Southern Africa
Population: n/a million GNI: n/a million Debt: n/a million
Southern Africa
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/60/SOUTHERN_AFRICA
Sudan
Population: 33.5 mn. million GDP: 51.6 bn. million Debt: 21.8 bn. million
The regime's survival will be the central issue. The New Dawn Charter opposition alliance will gain ground. Khartoum will suppress freedom and war will continue. Relations with Juba will remain poor with no breakthrough on Abyei.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/46/SUDAN
Swaziland
Population: 1.2 mn. million GDP: 3.7 bn. million Debt: 0.6 bn. million
The economic outlook is bleak. Elections in the second half of 2013 will be a mere formality, since political parties are banned and the pro-democracy movement has gone quiet.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/47/SWAZILAND
Tanzania
Population: 43 mn. million GDP: 28 bn. million Debt: 8.7 bn. million
The elections may be nearly three years away but the contest to succeed President Jakaya Kikwete has already begun. Multinationals will bid for gas assets amid concern about government economic management and transparency. The border row with Malawi will be resolved.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/48/TANZANIA
Togo
Population: 6.3 mn. million GDP: 3.6 bn. million Debt: 1.7 bn. million
The opposition wants the deferred parliamentary elections held in June. The new government role of ageing opposition leader Gilchrist Olympio will encourage the new party of his ex-colleague, Jean-Pierre Fabre, to lead demonstrations against President Faure Gnassingbé. Faure's political frailties worry investors.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/49/TOGO
Tunisia
Population: 10.8 mn. million GDP: 44.7 bn. million Debt: 21.6 bn. million
The new constitution should trigger fresh elections, possibly in June. The lack of social and economic progress is causing mounting disenchantment and street battles. This pressures the coalition led by the Islamist Ennahda party and encourages a polarisation between former Prime Minister Beji Caïd Essebsi’s Nidaa Tounes and the hardline Salafist movements, Ennahda's natural allies.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/50/TUNISIA
Uganda
Population: 35.6 mn. million GDP: 20.5 bn. million Debt: 3.0 bn. million
Factions in the National Resistance Movement will grow amid the race to succeed President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. The opposition will try to exploit the rifts. Progress on oil production will continue slowly. Kampala will try to placate Western states to end the aid strike but corruption is deep-seated. Anti-gay laws and the support for the M23 rebels in Congo-Kinshasa will not help.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/51/UGANDA
Western Sahara
Population: n/a million GDP: n/a million Debt: n/a million
The territory's future remains uncertain: Morocco will not yield sovereignty; Polisario, backed by Algeria, wants a referendum. The Algerian-Moroccan border will remain closed and wider Maghreb integration stalled.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/52/WESTERN_SAHARA
Zambia
Population: 13.9 mn. million GDP: 20.7 bn. million Debt: 3.7 bn. million
President Michael Sata and his Patriotic Front will strive to build a base in Parliament and crush the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, which lacks direction. Infrastructure spending will continue, to create jobs. Wynter Kabimba aims to succeed Sata.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/54/ZAMBIA
Zimbabwe
Population: 12.6 mn. million GDP: 10.8 bn. million Debt: 5 bn. million
The new constitution should precede general elections in the second half of the year. The Movement for Democratic Change has been politically clumsy, unlike the ageing but acute President Robert Mugabe. GDP growth could fall to 4% amid investor fears over indigenisation and violence. Almost no progress has been made on security reform ahead of the elections.
http://www.africa-confidential.com/browse-by-country/id/55/ZIMBABWE
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