WASHINGTON - Sub-Saharan Africa will see economic growth of 3.8% this year, and two-thirds of the countries in the region are forecast to have higher growth than in 2023, according to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.

Niger leads a lineup of seven countries expected to post at least 6% growth, mirroring projections from the World Bank in January that showed Niger’s economy growing by 12.8%. South Sudan is the only country that comes into the growth top 10 from a base of negative growth last year (-0.1%).

But the rosy projections come with caveats, including the prevalence of political instability and climate shocks in many African countries, the IMF said.

The 18 national elections that will be held this year across the continent may influence economic performance, while a difficult fundraising environment marked by higher interest rates could mean financing shortages for government spending and may dampen private sector investment.