African Banking’s Transitional Moment

Patrick Akinwuntan, group executive director of Ecobank Transnational, explains the bank’s plans to use mobile technology to vastly expand its customer base in the 33  African countries in which it operates

 
 
Source
Central bank

Bank of Central African States

International Reserves

USD 0.36 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019

Gross Domestic Product - GDP

USD 2.2 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)

Intl$ 3.6 billion (2018, estimate)

Real GDP growth
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012* 2013*
4.6% 2.1% 1.7% 3% 3.3% 4.1% -36.7%
2014* 2015* 2016* 2017* 2018*    
1% 4.8% 4.5% 4.3% 4.3%    

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current prices

USD 430.1 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita - PPP

Intl$ 711.9 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) - share of world total
1980 1990 2000 2010 2019*
0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% 0.003%

*Estimate

 
 
Source
GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 33.9% 
  • industry: 17.8% 
  • services: 28.2%

(2017 estimate)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)

N/A

 

Inflation
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
4.5% 4.6% 4.5% 1.6% 3%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

*Estimate

Household saving rates

N/A

 

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
59.8% 53.9% 50.3% 49.9% 44.5%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
-0.6% 1.1% -1.1% 0.4% 2.6%

*Estimate

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: N/A

Moody's: N/A

Standard & Poor's / Moody's 

Market value of publicly traded shares
2016 2017 2018
N/A N/A N/A
Largest companies

N/A

 
 
Source
Current account balance

USD -0.2 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP

-8.0 % (2018 estimate)

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)

15.2% (2017)

Shares in world total merchandising export

0.001% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export

0.001% (2016)

Total exports

USD 227.3 million (2016)

Export commodities

Diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee

Total imports

USD 507.2 million (2016 estimate)

 
 
Source
Import commodities

Food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals

Exports - major partners

France 31.2%, Burundi 16.2%, China 12.5%, Cameroon 9.6%, Austria 7.8% (2017)

Imports - major partners

France 17.1%, US 12.3%, India 11.5%, China 8.2%, South Africa 7.4%, Japan 5.8%, Italy 5.1%, Cameroon 4.9%, Netherlands 4.6% (2017)

FDI inflows
2016 2017 2018
USD 7.3 million USD 6.9 million USD 18.0 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2015 2016 2017 2018
N/A N/A N/A N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014

N/A

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015

N/A

Best countries for doing business

Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

184 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 180 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 184 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 185 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 170 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 144 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 162 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 187 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 164 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 183 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 155 out of 190 countries

Global competitiveness ranking

N/A

 

Index of Economic Freedom

Ranking: 161 / Score: 49.1 (Repressed)(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

 
 
Source
Time zone

UTC+1

Total area

622,984 sq km

Capital

Bangui

Currency

Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) 

Government type

Presidential republic

Languages

French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages

Religions

indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%

Total population
1990 2000 2010* 2015* 2020*
2.91 million 3.64 million 4.35 million 4.79 million 5.28 million

*Estimate

 
 
Source
Urban population as % of total population
1960 1980 2000 2018
20.1% 33.9%

37.6%

41.4%
Population median age

19.8 years

Population growth rate

2.11% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy

53.3 years (2018 estimate)

Literacy

Total population: 36.8% 
Male: 50.7% 
Female: 24.4%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day

N/A

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

N/A

Freedom House rating

Not Free
Political Rights: 7
Civil Liberties: 7

(2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)

Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population

Fixed: 0%

Mobile: 27.7%

(2018)

(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population

4.34 % (2017)

Mercer Cost of living index

Bangui: 54th (2019)

CO2 emissions

0.07 metric tons per capita (2014)

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