The World Bank (WB) will tomorrow launch the latest edition of the Africa’s Pulse, a biannual analysis of the state of African economies, which will highlight skills gaps and what governments need do to address the gaps..
According to an October 10 release, the 16th volume to be launched in Kampala by the World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, Albert Zeufack, and Lead Economist, Punam Chuhan, will also address recent economic developments and trends, as well as ways countries can meet the skills challenge of 21st century Africa.
The last report, volume 15, launched in April focused on infrastructure and showed Sub-Saharan Africa lags other developing regions in virtually all dimensions of infrastructure performance, although trends vary across key sectors.
Progress had been inadequate in the power sector, where electricity-generating capacity per capita changed little over 20 years, and although access to electricity more than doubled during 1990-2014, only 35 percent of the population had access. Sub-Saharan Africa also had the lowest road and railroad densities among developing regions, and road density declined during 1990-2011.
By contrast, the last report showed that telecommunications infrastructure had improved dramatically: the number of fixed and mobile phone lines per 1,000 people increased from three in 1990 to 736 in 2014, and the number of Internet users per 100 people increased from 1.3 in 2005 to 16.7 in 2015. Access to safe water has also risen, from 51 percent of the population in 1990 to 77 percent in 2015.
Eagle Online will bring you details of the latest report to be launched at World Bank Uganda office in Kampala.
