ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses where Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has come from, and where it might be going. It presents some of the trends in SSA’s economic growth, and reviews what has come to be known as the “poverty-growth-inequality triangle.” The chapter explores an overview of a selected set of non-monetary welfare and human development indicators. It addresses the evolving governance, economic policy, and general societal framework of SSA. China was one of the main drivers of the commodities price boom until 2014. The market for oil, but especially for coal, faces strong headwinds, not least from the accelerating move to renewable energy, in which China itself is a major innovator and producer. Both the agriculture and manufacturing sectors have performed below their potential in SSA. The agricultural development and policy reform menu is a large one, and “business as usual” will not be sufficient to address the present state of affairs.
