2020 Second-Quarter Forecast

Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

Sub-Saharan Africa

<p>Sub-Saharan Africa is a study in diversity. Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, the region is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources. It&rsquo;s no surprise that it captured the imagination of Europe&rsquo;s earliest explorers &mdash; and that it continues to capture the imagination of current world powers eager to exploit it. And yet despite the region&rsquo;s diversity, Sub-Saharan African countries have common challenges &mdash; transnational terrorism, rapid population growth, endemic poverty and corruption &mdash; that prevent them from capitalizing on their economic potential. The coming years will be critical for the region, especially as its political institutions mature in a rapidly globalizing world.</p>

2020 Annual Forecast

2019 Fourth-Quarter Forecast

2019 Third-Quarter Forecast

2019 Second-Quarter Forecast

2019 Annual Forecast

2018 Fourth-Quarter Forecast

2018 Second-Quarter Forecast

Assessments

Cameroon

Equatorial Guinea

Gabon

France

The oil-rich African country of Equatorial Guinea said it foiled a coup attempt in late December.

Politics

The oil-rich African nation's longtime president is reportedly ailing, and his jet-setting son is the heir apparent. The country's history of coup attempts means the journey ahead could get bumpy.

Equatorial Guinea Weighs a Dynasty in the Making

Old Leaders in a New Africa

2018 Annual Forecast

2017 Fourth-Quarter Forecast

2017 Third-Quarter Forecast

The Suitors of Sub-Saharan Africa

Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba has named his son Noureddin Bongo Valentin as coordinator of presidential affairs, a newly created position, Jeune Afrique reported Dec. 6.

Gabon: President Appoints His Son as Policy Coordinator

Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who had been out of the country for months after apparently suffering a stroke, has reportedly returned to Gabon full time, Reuters reported March 26.

Gabon: President Returns to Country After Five-Month Medical Leave

A cadre of military officers in Gabon took control of state radio during the early morning hours of Jan. 7, using the platform to denounce the government of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Reuters reported. However, loyalist forces have been able to dislodge the coup plotters and arrest four suspects. In the meantime, pro-Bongo units have occupied strategic locations in the capital.

Gabon: Failed Coup Leads to Arrests of Military Officers

Jean Ping, a prominent opposition leader in Gabon, has proclaimed himself the country's president amid the continued absence of President Ali Bongo Ondimba, News24 reported Nov. 4.

Gabon: Opposition Leader Proclaims Himself President In Bongo's Absence

Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba has been in a hospital in Saudi Arabia since Oct. 25 after suffering a stroke, Reuters reported Oct. 29, though Gabon's government has denied the news, claiming instead that the leader is receiving treatment for fatigue.

Gabon: President Hospitalized in Riyadh

Terrorism and Security

Gabon's Constitutional Court upheld President Ali Bongo Ondimba's victory in the presidential election on Aug. 27, following a complaint by the opposition that a recount was needed, Bloomberg reported Sept. 24.

Gabon: Court Upholds Presidential Election Results

Police in Gabon have arrested more than 1,000 people in the two days following the announced victory of incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba in the country's presidential election, Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya said, Reuters reported Sept. 1.

Gabon: Hundreds Arrested Amid Post-Election Violence

Violence broke out Aug. 31 between protesters and security forces in Gabon following the announcement of a victory for incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba in the country's recent presidential election, Reuters reported Sept. 1. 

Gabon: Post-Election Violence Rocks Country

Afghanistan

Algeria

Antigua and Barbuda

Luxembourg

South Sudan

A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Angola

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Bahrain

Lithuania

Barbados

Benin

Egypt

Maldives

Malta

Ukraine

Belize

Botswana

Brunei Darussalam

India

Iran

North Macedonia

Tajikistan

Bhutan

Bolivia

Burkina Faso

Cambodia

Germany

Iraq

The President palace in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

Brazil

Burundi

China

Finland

Israel

Nepal

Canada

Georgia

Jordan

Pakistan

Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

Cabo Verde

Chile

Federated States of Micronesia

Kuwait

Liechtenstein

Sri Lanka

Central African Republic

Colombia

Fiji

Latvia

Lebanon

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Chad

Costa Rica

Indonesia

Libya

Russia

Comoros

Cuba

Czech Republic

Japan

A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Morocco

Cote d'Ivoire

Denmark

Dominica

Kiribati

Moldova

Oman

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dominican Republic

Laos

Palestinian Territories

Djibouti

Ecuador

Holy See (Vatican City)

Malaysia

Qatar

El Salvador

Greece

Marshall Islands

Saudi Arabia

Eritrea

Grenada

Mongolia

Female

Male

Nigeria

Mexico

Trinidad and Tobago

United States

Venezuela

United Arab Emirates

Energy

Economics

A Crude Recovery

The newly extended production cut will slowly restore balance to the international oil market. But as the countries participating in the deal get closer to achieving their goals, they will face a different dilemma: how to ease out of it.

To Stabilize the Oil Market, OPEC Refines Its Strategy

Venezuela's Unraveling

The Libyan Civil War

Media

Graphics

Gabon's Opposition Is Playing a Dangerous Game

Military & Security

If the protests stoked by the president's rivals turn deadly, it could undermine their support at home and abroad.

Security

Republic of the Congo

The Challenges of Unseating Gabon's Longtime Leader

Even if accusations of election fraud could be proved, the opposition has little power to wield.

The Challenge of Unseating Gabon's Entrenched Leader

SITUATION REPORTS

Gabon: President Appoints His Son as Policy Coordinator

Gabon: President Returns to Country After Five-Month Medical Leave

Gabon: Failed Coup Leads to Arrests of Military Officers

Gabon: Opposition Leader Proclaims Himself President In Bongo's Absence

Gabon: President Hospitalized in Riyadh

Gabon: Court Upholds Presidential Election Results

Gabon: Hundreds Arrested Amid Post-Election Violence

Gabon: Post-Election Violence Rocks Country

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support