Growing African Economies Could Lessen Poverty

The growth of Africa's economy over the past 10 years is strong enough to "put a dent in a dent in poverty," according to a World Bank report. Growth over the past decade has averaged 5.4%, but more foreign investment is needed to keep that going. The report credits economic and governmental reforms for the good news.

"Africa has learnt to trade more effectively with the rest of the world, to rely more on the private sector, and to avoid the very serious collapses in economic growth that characterized the 1970s, 1980s and even the early 1990s," one economist said. Still, more than half of sub-Saharan Africa's GDP comes from South Africa and Nigeria, the Associated Press reports. (More Africa stories.)