The southern African region lags the rest of Africa in terms of both GDP and air passenger growth.
This was revealed by Dr Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA Senior VP for Sustainability and Chief Economist, during last week’s IATA Wings of Change Focus Africa conference in Johannesburg.
She said East Africa led the continent’s GDP growth with 5,6% in 2024, with southern Africa in last place with 1,8% this year.
Africa represents 18% of the world’s population but accounts for only 3% of global GDP.
East Africa also leads the expected air passenger growth in Africa, followed by central/western Africa, northern Africa, and southern Africa.
Thomsen further noted that African airlines paid, on average, 20% more for jet fuel than other regions in the world.
Regardless, Africa’s passenger traffic is expected to double from 170 million air passengers in 2024 to 340 million in 2043.
