Africa is the second most populated continent with approximately 1.3 billion people living in 54 independent countries. Africa covers 20% of the total world surface, and some of the earliest civilizations emerged in Africa five thousand years ago. However, in economic terms, Africa is far away from its real potential. Its GDP is only above Oceania and GDP per capita is still below $2,000. According to Worldbank research in 2015, 41% of Sub-Saharan population lives below the poverty line of $1.9 per day.
Despite all these economic disadvantages, African countries are taking serious steps in promoting trade and developing welfare. In March 2018, 44 out of 54 African countries signed the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in Kigali, Rwanda. The agreement outlines the removal of tariffs on 90% of goods, allowing free access to commodities, goods and services across African countries. If the African Continental Free Trade Agreement enters into force, the Intra-Africa trade can converge to the level of Intra-Asia or Intra-Europe trade.
In the last decade, some African countries were able to attract the attention of foreign investors. Especially, the textiles industry developed rapidly in East Africa. Ethiopia is a great example of industrializaiton for other African countries. In 2017 alone, textiles accounted for the 6.5% of total exports with $144 million total value. 10 years ago, the percentage of textiles was only 2.8% with $53 million total value.
The 2019 edition of the Istanbul Africa Trade Company’s Africa Economic Report provides a comprehensive analysis of each country’s economic outlook and potential synergies in the international trade arena. Furthermore, the report provides insights on import and export products in Africa. The report was prepared by Istanbul Africa Trade Company Management and regional partners. You can find the macroeconomic and trade profiles of 20 African countries.
We hope that you will enjoy reading the report and find it useful for your business. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information regardig relations between African countries and Turkey.
