South Sudan’s GDP was 4.07 billion dollars in 2020. Though South Sudan’s GDP has fluctuated significantly in recent years, it has tended to decline from 2011 to 2020, ending at $4.07 billion in 2020.
Is South Sudan a poor or wealthy country?
On July 9, 2011, the Republic of South Sudan became the world’s newest country and Africa’s 55th. Conflicts erupted again in December 2013 and July 2016, undermining the progress made in development since independence and worsening the humanitarian crisis. As a result, a decade after independence, South Sudan remains mired in a web of fragility, economic stagnation, and instability. Poverty exists everywhere, and it is exacerbated by intercommunal conflict, displacement, and external shocks.
The signing of the most recent cease-fire in September 2018 and the subsequent formation of a unity government in February 2020 has given rise to a lot of optimism for recovery and peacebuilding. In 2019, the number of conflict incidents decreased dramatically, allowing some refugees who had previously been dispersed in the region to return. At the same time, the restoration of oil production in oil fields that had been closed due to conflict had fuelled hopes for an oil-led revival. However, with rising incidences of subnational violence in 2020 and the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic worsening an already severe situation, the country stands the possibility of losing these accomplishments.
The cumulative impacts of years of conflict have destroyed people’s livelihoods, leaving South Sudan in a catastrophic humanitarian catastrophe. Acute food insecurity is still widespread across the country, with almost 7.2 million people (about half of the population) experiencing crisis-level food insecurity, with 1.4 million children under the age of five predicted to be chronically malnourished by 2021. The humanitarian catastrophe has displaced approximately 4 million people, with nearly 1.6 million internally displaced and 2.2 million refugees in six bordering countries. Women and children are still the ones that suffer the most. The triple shock of heightened conflict and sub-national violence, a second consecutive year of catastrophic flooding, and the effects of COVID-19 hit communities hard in 2020, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian catastrophe.
People were unable to return home in large numbers due to insecurity, a lack of essential amenities, and unresolved housing, land, and property concerns. In 2021, it is anticipated that 8.3 million people in South Sudan will require humanitarian aid. There are 8 million nationalities and 310,000 refugees and asylum seekers among them. In absolute terms, this is an increase of 800,000 persons from the 7.5 million people in need in 2020. The rise in requirements is mostly due to increased food insecurity.
The South Sudanese economy is particularly vulnerable to weather, oil price, and conflict-related shocks, as recent events have demonstrated.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy had perked up significantly, with GDP growth reaching 9.5 percent in FY2019/20. The oil sector has been the main driver of growth, with expected oil output of 62.1 million barrels in FY2019/20, up 26.5 percent from the 49.1 million barrels achieved in FY2018/19. The cultivated area in the agricultural sector expanded by 6% in 2020 compared to the previous year, but it is still far from pre-conflict levels. However, as the pandemic interrupted livelihoods, living standards plummeted. According to high-frequency surveys performed in June 2020, 51.2 percent of respondents reported lower earnings from their primary source of income. Since then, things have improved slightly, with 50.7 percent of respondents reporting lower salaries by October 2020.
Health, education, water and sanitation, as well as agriculture and rural development, are among the important socioeconomic sectors where spending is limited.
Nonetheless, the government’s forthcoming budget is likely to increase spending on health, education, and social assistance significantly.
As a result of acute food insecurity and restricted access to basic services across the country, poverty levels are anticipated to remain exceedingly high. According to the most recent estimates, almost 82 percent of South Sudan’s population is poor, based on the $1.90 2011 purchasing power parity poverty line.
The government’s top priority are to address the conflict’s root causes and to stabilize the economy. The government has hastened discussions on important measures aimed at bolstering the economy in the face of a dual health and economic crisis. The present reform discussion has focussed on reforms to public financial management. A government-led Public Financial Management Oversight Committee is overseeing these measures (OC). This OC is responsible for supervising the execution of the recently authorized Financial Management Reform Strategy, among other things (PFMRS).
Why is the GDP of South Sudan so low?
In 2020, locust invasions, floods, and the COVID19 pandemic undermined South Sudan’s embryonic economic recovery, which had been fueled by the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, increased oil prices, and the resumption of oil production. Measures to contain the development of COVID19, such as social separation and restrictions on travel and business hours, hampered economic activity. The service sector, which accounts for 6.1 percent of GDP, took the worst of the blow. Floods and locusts wreaked havoc on the agriculture sector, which accounts for 15% of GDP and employs 80% of the workforce. The decline of global oil prices harmed the oil sector, which accounts for 70% of GDP and more than 90% of government revenues. COVID19 also harmed public and private consumption, which are the main demand drivers in 2019. As a result, after rising by 7.4% in 2019, real GDP growth is predicted to slow to 3.6 percent in 2020. Flooding, locust invasions, and COVID19 interruptions, combined with the monetization of the government budget deficit and currency depreciation, pushed inflation up to 31.1 percent in 2020, up from 24.5 percent in 2019. In November 2020, the South Sudan pound fell by 10% compared to the same time in 2019, to SSP 176 per US dollar. Falling global oil prices have cut government revenues by 40%, causing the fiscal deficit to rise to 4.9 percent of GDP in 2020, up from 2.5 percent in 2019. Reduced oil export receipts combined with a decrease in financial inflows, primarily remittances and foreign direct investment, increased the current account deficit to 4.5 percent of GDP in 2020, up from 2.7 percent in 2019. The COVID19 containment measures have had an impact on banking, which dominates the financial sector. Credit to the private sector fell by 20% in 2019, and is expected to fall by another 40% in 2020, owing to low economic activity and high financing costs. Poverty and unemployment are likely to worsen as a result of the economic recession, with disproportionate consequences on youth and women.
Partially recovering economies will be aided by a peace dividend and a predicted increase in oil production and exports, with real GDP expected to grow by 0.1 percent in 2021 and 2.5 percent in 2022. Inflation is predicted to fall to 23.3 percent in 2021 as containment measures are eased, particularly the reopening of borders with Kenya and Uganda, which will allow food and other needs to be imported more easily. Reforms in public financial management and a recovery in global oil prices are predicted to lower the fiscal deficit to 1.2 percent of GDP in 2021, with external borrowing likely to fill the gap. Because of higher global oil prices, the current account deficit is forecast to reduce to 2.3 percent of GDP in 2021. The greatest downside risks to the economic outlook are a breakdown of the peace agreement, oil price changes, and climate change.
Due to the restructuring of the country’s commercial debt with Qatar National Bank, which accounts for 46 percent of foreign debt, South Sudan’s debt risk rating improved from debt distress to high risk in October 2020. External debt was reduced to an estimated 28.3 percent of GDP in 2020, down from 38 percent in 2019. Debt restructuring and the clearing of arrears owed to Sudan also helped lower external debt to an estimated 28.3 percent of GDP in 2020, down from 38 percent in 2019. As of June 2020, commercial loans accounted for 81 percent of total external debt, followed by multilateral (8%) and bilateral (11%) loans. While focusing on domestic resource mobilization is critical, the government should also increase fiscal openness, accountability, and reporting to enhance budgetary space. In the medium to long term, improving the transparency of resource-backed loans and strengthening the capacity to plan and implement smart macroeconomic policies can help to ensure debt sustainability. Reforms aimed at accelerating economic diversification and reducing dependency on oil are also critical. The main obstacles to adopting such reforms are institutional and capacity constraints. In 2020, gross reserves were equivalent to less than one month’s worth of imports, making them insufficient to act as a short-term alternative source of funding.
Who in South Sudan is the wealthiest?
; born 3 May 1946) is a millionaire Sudanese-British businessman. Before launching Celtel, he worked for various telecommunications firms, and when it was sold, it had over 24 million mobile phone subscribers in 14 African countries. Following the sale of Celtel for $3.4 billion in 2005, he established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to promote improved governance in Africa, as well as the Ibrahim Index of African Governance to assess countries’ performance. He is also a member of the London Business School’s Africa regional advisory board.
What causes Burundi’s poverty?
Burundi’s economy is primarily reliant on agriculture, which contributed 32.9 percent of GDP in 2008. Burundi is a landlocked country with limited resources and an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. Agriculture employs more than 70% of the workforce, with the bulk comprising subsistence farmers.
Despite the fact that Burundi has the ability to be self-sufficient in food production, persistent civil strife, overpopulation, and soil erosion have all led to the subsistence economy contracting by 25% in recent years. Large numbers of internally displaced people are unable to generate their own food and rely heavily on foreign humanitarian aid. In 1997, food accounted for 17 percent of Burundi’s imports, making it a net food importer.
What causes the poverty in South Sudan?
South Sudan is vast, mostly rural, and sparsely populated. Rural areas are home to over 83 percent of the population. Poverty is widespread, with at least 80% of the population classified as low-income and living on less than $1 a day. More over a third of the population has insecure food availability.
It is, nevertheless, a well-endowed and potentially wealthy country.
Its most prominent natural feature is the Nile River. It runs through the country and through some of the country’s regional centers, including Juba, the capital. In certain rural areas, it aids trade, administration, and urbanization.
Other natural resources in South Sudan include oil, gold, silver, iron ore, copper, and many others. Cassava, groundnuts, sweet potato, sorghum, sesame, maize, rice, finger millet, cowpea, and beans have all been grown on the country’s vast fertile fields.
Despite its geographical isolation, the country has access to prospective trade routes and markets for its commodities exports.
At the same time, the oil industry dominates the economy.
Outside of the oil industry, most people’s livelihoods are based on low-paying agriculture and pastoralist labour. Non-wage labour employs up to 85% of the working population, primarily in subsistence agriculture and livestock rearing (about 78 percent of the working population).
Agriculture is primarily rain-fed, making it extremely vulnerable to changing weather patterns. Droughts and floods are common in South Sudan, with both extensive and localized effects. There is almost no manufacturing industry in the country, and almost all intermediate and consumer items are imported. The oil industry is the only contemporary industrial sector, and it is dominated by foreign investors, mainly Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian.
South Sudan’s economic woes have been exacerbated by the fighting, declining oil earnings, and quickly weakening currency.
Conflict has obstructed the path to inclusive and sustainable growth, which relies on a diverse economy to provide jobs and livelihoods for the poor and war-affected. Citizens’ demands for justice, the rule of law, accountability, reconciliation, and healing have yet to be fulfilled.
What is the most serious issue in South Sudan?
After eight years of independence, South Sudan should be a hopeful country. Instead, it is today engulfed in a tremendous humanitarian disaster.
Massive displacement, raging violence, and severe food shortages have resulted from political conflict, which has been exacerbated by economic troubles and drought. Over seven million people, or almost two-thirds of the population, are in need of assistance, with 6.9 million of them suffering from hunger.
With the start of the lean season, the period between harvests when food stocks are low, food security is expected to deteriorate even more, with 7.7 million people estimated to be facing crisis levels of hunger.
For years, persistent conflict and insecurity have pushed millions of people to the verge of hunger. Famine was proclaimed in two South Sudanese counties in 2017, and the threat of famine has continued ever since. Another famine is possible this year without peace and constant humanitarian access.
The people of this fledgling country require our assistance, and we must not overlook them among the world’s other crises. We’re working on the ground in South Sudan to help families who are struggling to make ends meet, but it all starts with you.
Below, you may learn more about this complicated dilemma and acquire the most up-to-date information on the situation in South Sudan. Also, learn how you can assist.
What is the most well-known feature of South Sudan?
The country of South Sudan, often known as Southern Sudan, is located in northeastern Africa. Its diverse ecosystem includes beautiful savannas, swamplands, and rainforests, which are home to a diverse range of fauna. South Sudan was previously a part of Sudan, its northern neighbor. The people of South Sudan, who are mostly African ethnicities with Christian or animist beliefs, have long been at odds with Sudan’s predominantly Muslim and Arab northern authority. The capital of South Sudan is Juba.
Which country is the most powerful in the world?
In the 2021 Best Countries Report, Canada wins the top overall rank as the world’s number one country for the first time. After coming in second place in the 2020 report, Canada has now eclipsed Switzerland in the 2021 report, with Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia following closely behind.
In 2021, what would India’s GDP be?
In its second advance estimates of national accounts released on Monday, the National Statistical Office (NSO) forecasted the country’s growth for 2021-22 at 8.9%, slightly lower than the 9.2% estimated in its first advance estimates released in January.
Furthermore, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reduced its estimates of GDP contraction for the coronavirus pandemic-affected last fiscal year (2020-21) to 6.6 percent. The previous projection was for a 7.3% decrease.
In April-June 2020, the Indian economy contracted 23.8 percent, and in July-September 2020, it contracted 6.6 percent.
“While an adverse base was expected to flatten growth in Q3 FY2022, the NSO’s initial estimates are far below our expectations (6.2 percent for GDP), with a marginal increase in manufacturing and a contraction in construction that is surprising given the heavy rains in the southern states,” said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA.
“GDP at constant (2011-12) prices is estimated at Rs 38.22 trillion in Q3 of 2021-22, up from Rs 36.26 trillion in Q3 of 2020-21, indicating an increase of 5.4 percent,” according to an official release.
According to the announcement, real GDP (GDP) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at constant (2011-12) prices is expected to reach Rs 147.72 trillion in 2021-22, up from Rs 135.58 trillion in the first updated estimate announced on January 31, 2022.
GDP growth is expected to be 8.9% in 2021-22, compared to a decline of 6.6 percent in 2020-21.
In terms of value, GDP in October-December 2021-22 was Rs 38,22,159 crore, up from Rs 36,22,220 crore in the same period of 2020-21.
According to NSO data, the manufacturing sector’s Gross Value Added (GVA) growth remained nearly steady at 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2021-22, compared to 8.4 percent a year ago.
GVA growth in the farm sector was weak in the third quarter, at 2.6 percent, compared to 4.1 percent a year before.
GVA in the construction sector decreased by 2.8%, compared to 6.6% rise a year ago.
The electricity, gas, water supply, and other utility services segment grew by 3.7 percent in the third quarter of current fiscal year, compared to 1.5 percent growth the previous year.
Similarly, trade, hotel, transportation, communication, and broadcasting services expanded by 6.1 percent, compared to a decline of 10.1 percent a year ago.
In Q3 FY22, financial, real estate, and professional services growth was 4.6 percent, compared to 10.3 percent in Q3 FY21.
During the quarter under examination, public administration, defense, and other services expanded by 16.8%, compared to a decrease of 2.9 percent a year earlier.
Meanwhile, China’s economy grew by 4% between October and December of 2021.
“India’s GDP growth for Q3FY22 was a touch lower than our forecast of 5.7 percent, as the manufacturing sector grew slowly and the construction industry experienced unanticipated de-growth.” We have, however, decisively emerged from the pandemic recession, with all sectors of the economy showing signs of recovery.
“Going ahead, unlock trade will help growth in Q4FY22, as most governments have eliminated pandemic-related limitations, but weak rural demand and geopolitical shock from the Russia-Ukraine conflict may impair global growth and supply chains.” The impending pass-through of higher oil and gas costs could affect domestic demand mood, according to Elara Capital economist Garima Kapoor.
“Strong growth in the services sector and a pick-up in private final consumption expenditure drove India’s real GDP growth to 5.4 percent in Q3.” While agriculture’s growth slowed in Q3, the construction sector’s growth became negative.
“On the plus side, actual expenditure levels in both the private and public sectors are greater than they were before the pandemic.
“Given the encouraging trends in government revenues and spending until January 2022, as well as the upward revision in the nominal GDP growth rate for FY22, the fiscal deficit to GDP ratio for FY22 may come out better than what the (federal) budget projected,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, group chief economist, L&T Financial Holdings.
“The growth number is pretty disappointing,” Sujan Hajra, chief economist of Mumbai-based Anand Rathi Securities, said, citing weaker rural consumer demand and investments as reasons.
After crude prices soared beyond $100 a barrel, India, which imports virtually all of its oil, might face a wider trade imbalance, a weaker rupee, and greater inflation, with a knock to GDP considered as the main concern.
“We believe the fiscal and monetary policy accommodation will remain, given the geopolitical volatility and crude oil prices,” Hajra added.
According to Nomura, a 10% increase in oil prices would shave 0.2 percentage points off India’s GDP growth while adding 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points to retail inflation.
Widening sanctions against Russia are likely to have a ripple impact on India, according to Sakshi Gupta, senior economist at HDFC Bank.
“We see a 20-30 basis point downside risk to our base predictions,” she said. For the time being, HDFC expects the GDP to rise 8.2% in the coming fiscal year.