Senegal Economic Outlook
- Economic growth of 2.6% in 2011 should improve in 2012 and 2013, driven by investment in energy and roads.
- Senegal successfully managed its political transition with the presidential election, won by Macky Sall, in March 2012 and the formation of a new Government.
- Youth employment remains a major concern.
Economic growth should improve in 2012 and 2013 with the implementation of the government’s programme based on the economic policy support instrument (ISPEII) 201013 agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and on the 2011-15 economic policy document. The chief investments will be in the energy sector and the roads sector with work continuing on the toll road.
The poor performance of agriculture in 2011 and the danger of a global economic recession are factors that could make a possible social explosion still worse. The continuing deepening of the budget deficit in 2012 and 2013 makes it necessary to place greater emphasis on the quality of public spending. In this respect the implementation of reforms could be made easier by the new legitimacy conferred on the leadership emerging from the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.
Young Senegalese have great difficulty in entering the labour market and their employment rate is 25% lower than that of adults. Measures taken by the state and its partners have not so far yielded the results hoped for in terms of the numbers and quality of jobs created for young people. The demographic weight of the young and the results of the measures taken to help them make it imperative that initiatives to favourtheir employment form part of an overall approach.
