The annual flagship report Africa’s Development Dynamics is a product of the longstanding partnership between the African Union Commission’s Department of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals and the OECD Development Centre. It brings together a team of academic researchers, economists, statisticians and other experts from African and partner countries.
The 2025 edition explores how African stakeholders can accelerate infrastructure development to achieve productive transformation and the Agenda 2063. The first chapter assesses the infrastructure investment needs to accelerate productive transformation and current financing conditions in the face of growing sovereign debt burdens, high cost of capital and declining development finance. It also evaluates the main environmental and social sustainability opportunities and risks associated with infrastructure development. The second chapter proposes priority policies to accelerate the development and implementation of infrastructure projects, drawing on lessons from across the continent and beyond. The ensuing chapters focus on the five African regions as defined by the Abuja Treaty: Southern, Central, East, North and West Africa. These chapters offer a regional perspective on the state of infrastructure, financing flows, infrastructure policies, development corridors, infrastructure project support and skills development.
This edition draws on a wide range of data sources and included primary data collection through semi‑structured interviews and a survey. The analysis was conducted between September 2024 and June 2025, based on available studies and data. The OECD/AfIDA online survey on skill supply in the infrastructure sector was administered to a network of infrastructure developers, investors and experts. Twenty‑eight responses were received by February 2025. Findings were corroborated through an expert workshop with 40 participants on 23 January 2025. Three semi-structured interviews took place in December 2024.
The statistical annex contains the latest economic, social and institutional indicators across African countries for which data are comparable. A list of data tables appears in the last pages of the report. The data are presented by country, region, regional economic community and relevant country groupings (e.g. resource endowment, levels of income, socio‑economic development and fragility, ocean access, and language). The annex provides comparisons between Africa and different world regions as well as other relevant benchmarks. These data aim to inform decision makers, advisors, business analysts, private investors, journalists, non-governmental organisations and citizens around the globe who are interested in the development trajectories of African countries. It is revised online on an ongoing basis.
The full report is published in English, French and Portuguese. Additional figures and tables and the statistical annex are available on the websites of the African Union Commission and the OECD Development Centre.