African Countries Step Away From Aid Dependency

An increasing number of African countries are beginning to step away from aid dependency. Therefore, they are now depending on the domestic private sector to become the engine of growth across much of Africa.

Currently, at least a third of African countries receive aid that is equivalent to less than 10 percent of their tax revenue. They include Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Libya. This is a significant change from years of high dependency on aid.

These are countries that have made the most progress towards replacing aid with domestically mobilized resources. On average, Africa has managed to raise an estimated 441 dollars in taxes per person per year while receiving 41 dollars per person per year in aid, according to a comprehensive look at African resource mobilization by the African Economic Outlook 2011.