The economist who monitors Mozambique’s economy for the United Nations, Katarzyna Roskosz, told Lusa on Sunday, January 21, that the restart of major natural gas extraction projects in the north of the country is the main driver of economic growth.
“Our estimate of economic growth is relatively positive. There was a risk of political instability, but it has been mostly contained, and recently some of the major projects in the extractive industry have restarted,” said Katarzyna Roskosz, predicting growth of 5.2% this year and 6.8% in 2025.
Speaking to Lusa after the release of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) report on the world economy, the analyst stressed that political stability is crucial to ensuring investor confidence in this southern African country.
“We monitor the political situation because it is essential for projects to materialize and for positive prospects to materialize,” Roskosz said of Mozambique, which will hold presidential and legislative elections this year, following last year’s regional elections.
UNDESA predicts “modest economic growth” of 3.5% for Africa this year, in a context of global economic slowdown and worsening public debt.
“Last year, growth on the African continent was 3.3%, with many economies facing increases in inflation, mainly due to rising fuel and food prices, and currency devaluations due to reduced exports and limited external capital inflows,” notes the report.
Despite the challenges, UNDESA predicts growth of 4.2% for the African economy in 2025. However, it points to the increase in public debt in relation to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and “exorbitant debt costs” as significant obstacles to growth.
Worldwide, UNDESA predicts that global economic growth will slow to 2.4% this year, “tending to fall below the pre-covid-19 pandemic growth rate of 3%”. The report highlights short-term risks and structural vulnerabilities, such as high interest rates, conflicts, slow international trade and climate disasters, which pose significant challenges to global growth.
