Guinea’s economy grows 7% in 2020 amid dual pandemic; bauxite mining plays a vital role

On 30^th April’2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported on a virtual mission that in 2020, the economy of the West African nation, Guinea has grown 7% on Y-o-Y amid the dual pandemic of Covid-19 and Ebola.

The growth figure reported is even well above the 5.2% previously forecasted by IMF. Clara Mira led IMF virtual mission said “the good performance was mainly driven by the mining sector.”

Guinea’s mining sector recorded a rise by 18.4% in mining activity in 2020, against only 8% in 2019, as data supplied by African Development Bank (AfDB). Bauxite, the raw material of aluminium is accredited for its high demand, of which the nation has become the main supplier since 2017.

Even though 2020 revealed better results than expected, 2021 shows signs to take the opposite path. This slowdown might due in particular to the impact of the health crisis on the country’s non-mining economy.

Clara Mira said: “Despite the implementation of a swift and well-structured response plan, the pandemic took a significant toll on the non-mining economy, which accounts for over ¾ of total GDP and employs the vast majority of the population.”

“Non-mining growth remains subdued and is not expected to fully recover until 2022,” Clara added.

To safeguard the effective recovery of the Guinean economy, IMF recommended the implementation of reforms that need to be focused among other things are improvising tax collection and scaling up mining capacities. Furthermore, the IMF noted the significance of the vaccination campaign against covid-19 and the establishment of a support system for the most underprivileged segments of the population to achieve Guinea's development aspirations.