Before the recent global economic crisis, African countries experienced one of the longest periods of economic expansion. Although Africa weathered the crisis much better than many other regions, its economies remain fragile and daunted by the challenge of achieving suffi ciently high growth rates. Yet, there are also many opportunities that off er hope for African countries to achieve sustainable growth in 2011.

In this report, experts from the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings examine some of the key issues that will matter for Africa in 2011 and beyond.They provide brief overviews of the issues and give policy recommendations to African governments and development partners on how to leverage the opportunities for prosperity, while anticipating and overcoming challenges that could derail Africa’s growth.