Angola was one of the two Portuguese-speaking countries experiencing an economic recession in 2016, with GDP contracting 0.7%, but is expected to return to growth of 1.5% this year, according to the World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The only other Portuguese-speaking country whose economy contracted in 2016 was Brazil, with a fall of 3.6%, according to the same figures, which predict that the largest country in Latin America will grow by a modest 0.7% this year.
The report released on Tuesday in Washington projects that Brazil will achieve economic growth of 1.5% in 2018 and 2.0% in 2022.
Back in Africa, the other four Portuguese-speaking countries – Cabo Verde (Cape Verde), Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe – show economic growth in both 2016 and forecasts for 2017, 2018 and 2022.
According to the IMF, these four countries, with the exception of Mozambique, have experienced steady rates of economic growth over the years, with Cabo Verde at around 5.0% and Sao Tome and Principe also around 5.0%.
In the case of Mozambique, the IMF is already counting on the start of the exploration of natural gas deposits in the north of the country, since as, after growth of 3.8% in 2016, GDP growth is now expected to rise to 4.7% for 2017, 5.3% for 2018 and 14.0% for 2022.
Timor-Leste recorded economic growth of 5.0% in 2016, with the IMF expecting positive changes of 4.0%, 6.0% and 5.2% respectively in the three years under review.
Portugal, the only Portuguese-speaking country that appears in the group of advanced economies, achieved economic growth of 1.4% in 2016, with the IMF expecting growth of 2.0% in both 2017 and 2018 and 2.3% in 2022.
Source: Macauhub
