Luanda, Sept. 21, 2026 (Lusa) - The Angolan Government on Monday forecast that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth this year would reach 5.57%, 0.58 percentage points lower than the central bank's forecast, emphasising that the economy has shown «consistent signs of resilience».
Last week, the National Bank of Angola (BNA) revised its GDP forecast for this year upwards to 6.15%, up from the 3.6% forecast in July, driven by momentum in the non-oil sector.
The secretary of state for planning, Luís Epalanga, noted, however, that macroeconomic stability «does not mean there are no challenges», recalling that in the second quarter of 2026 the fiscal balance recorded a deficit of 2.0 trillion kwanzas (€1.9 billion), 2.2 trillion more than in the same period last year, as a result of increased expenditure and reduced revenue.
«This situation reinforces the need to improve the quality of public spending, the efficiency with which resources are used, and the ability to channel funding towards investments with greater economic and social impact,» he emphasised.
According to Epalanga, in the second quarter of 2026, the Angolan economy recorded year-on-year GDP growth of 8.74%, following 5.32% in the previous quarter, with growth of 5.57% forecast for the year as a whole.
«These results reflect greater resilience and the growing contribution of non-oil sectors,» the minister stated today at the opening of the launch ceremony for the 2026 Country Focus Report – Mobilising Large-Scale Financing for Angola's Development in a Fragmented World.
He emphasised that between 2021 and 2025, the oil sector's share of GDP fell from 23.83% to 13.95%, whilst the non-oil sector came to account for 86.05% of the economy, ensuring that economic diversification «is thus progressively translating into a concrete transformation of the national productive structure».
Despite the uncertainty and adversity in the international context, he continued, the economy has shown consistent signs of resilience, reflected in the recovery of economic activity and the stabilisation of prices.
«With a trend towards deceleration and the sustainability of public finances and external accounts,» he emphasised.
He highlighted the importance of the report drawn up by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and argued, on the other hand, that for Angola, the mobilisation of large-scale development finance in a fragmenting global context requires economic diversification and fiscal reforms aimed at rigorous management of public debt.
It also requires a commitment to logistics corridors to attract private investment, promote regional integration and boost agriculture and exports (such as the Lobito Corridor), as well as macroeconomic stability, he noted «And [they also require] a transition to new productive sectors, reducing vulnerability to external shocks and, above all, strategic cooperation with development partners,» he concluded.
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