North Africa Economic Outlook 2018

This North Africa Economic Outlook (covering Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia) examines the macroeconomic performance of the region and the outlook for 2018 and 2019 and explores the relationship between food security and rural poverty. Part I looks at the key drivers of regional GDP growth and its sectoral decomposition, price movements, scale and current account balance, domestic resource mobilization, and debt dynamics. It also identifies common structural issues facing North African countries and analyzes trends in poverty and inequality and how they relate to unemployment and growth. Part II explores food security and rural poverty in North Africa, viewing them as interlinked. It proposes a strategy to enhance food security while reducing rural poverty and rural–urban inequality by increasing farmers’ share of value added.