Botswana in Africa’s worst economic decline – AfDB

Botswana has emerged as Africa’s sharpest deteriorating economy in the latest African Development Bank (AfDB) Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook-November 2025 Update. The report shows that while Africa’s overall growth prospects have improved anchored by stronger private consumption, easing inflation, and resilient external demand, Southern Africa remains the continent’s weakest-performer, weighed down heavily by Botswana’s dramatic downgrade. Southern Africa remains under strain, with the AfDB maintaining the region’s 2025 growth outlook at 2.2 percent.

The 2026 outlook, however, has been revised downward from 2.5 percent to 2.4 percent. The Bank cites the absence of decisive structural reforms-particularly in South Africa’s energy and transport sectors and the region’s exposure to volatile commodity prices as major constraints.