News & Analysis: Angola
“Michelle D. Gavin, CFR’s senior fellow for Africa studies, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how the novel coronavirus is affecting Angola, Botswana, Sudan, and other nations throughout Africa.”
“Despite a late arrival, the COVID-19 virus has spread rapidly across Sub-Saharan Africa in recent weeks. Economic growth is projected to decline from 2.4 percent in 2019 to -2.1 to -5.1 percent in 2020, the first recession in the region in 25 years… African countries will require financial assistance from their development partners–including COVID-19 related multilateral assistance and a debt service stand-still with official bilateral creditors.”
“The closed borders and travel bans that have accompanied the spread of the novel coronavirus have dramatically dampened the demand for oil, leading to a precipitous decline in prices. This will have significant economic knock-on effects for all of Sub-Saharan Africa’s top producers.”
“Many of Eurobonds will mature between 2021 and 2025. It will require sub-Saharan African countries to repay an average of just under $4 billion annually in that period. But they are already currently bleeding a rising total of just over $1.5 billion in annual coupon payments on these Eurobonds.”
A hub for information, analysis, and the global response to COVID-19’s impact on Africa