By Valérie K.
The Sudanese government approved the 2019 budget on Wednesday (December 19th). The text forecasts an economic growth of 5.1% in 2019 against 4% in 2018, as well as a reduction of the budget deficit to 3.3%.
According to government forecasts, exports are expected to grow by 30 percent while state revenues increase by 39 percent next year. “The 2019 budget is based on real resources and disciplined spending,” said Moataz Moussa, Sudan’s prime minister. The government plans to focus on increasing production of oil, wheat and sugar and significant investments in the digital economy, he added.
Sudan is experiencing inflation of about 70%, coupled with a lack of currency. Although declining, public debt is estimated at more than 50% GDP in 2017, and most of the external debt is in arrears. The final lifting, in October 2017, of US sanctions imposed on Sudan for twenty years should facilitate these remedies and the resumption of international financial transactions.
Between 2011 and 2016, real GDP growth averaged 3.3 percent, compared to 7.1 percent in 2000-2010, and is estimated at 3.5 percent for 2017 according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
