Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Africa’s early fiscal stimulus appeared to fall short
COVID-19 | Africa | Economics
May 13, 2020 – As of mid-April, African stimulus measures—amounting to between 1 and 1.5 percent of GDP—seemed insufficient given the potential three- to eight-percentage-point reduction in GDP growth the continent could see from the pandemic.
To read the article, see “Finding Africa’s path: Shaping bold solutions to save lives and livelihoods in the COVID-19 crisis,” April 2020.
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Visual form
Scatter Plot: bubble scatter plot of fiscal stimulus, GDP per capita, and COVID-19 cases by country.
Layout / body structure
Countries are plotted in a single scatter field, with GDP per capita on the horizontal axis and announced fiscal stimulus as a percent of GDP on the vertical axis. Bubble size represents COVID-19 case count, colors separate regions, and inset boxes open up crowded low-income, low-stimulus clusters.
What is being compared
It compares fiscal-stimulus scale across countries and regions, with African countries positioned against countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and other regions. The chart also shows how each country’s stimulus level relates to income level and case burden.
Measurement system
The x-axis is GDP per capita in thousands of dollars, the y-axis is fiscal stimulus as a percent of GDP, and bubble size encodes number of COVID-19 cases. Region is encoded by color.
Visible structure inside the graphic
African countries cluster low on the stimulus axis, mostly near the lower-left part of the plot. Several richer or non-African countries sit farther right or higher up, while the United States stands out as a large bubble and Sweden sits high on the stimulus-share axis.
Main takeaway from the visual
The scatter plot shows that early African fiscal-stimulus announcements were small relative to GDP, especially compared with larger packages in several richer economies. The cluster pattern supports the page’s argument that the early response was likely insufficient for the scale of the shock.
Key standout values or extremes
The page states that African stimulus measures amounted to about 1 to 1.5 percent of GDP, while the continent faced a potential three- to eight-percentage-point reduction in GDP growth. South Africa, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Kenya, and Angola appear in the low-stimulus African cluster.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static scatter plot; there are no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the bubble scatter plot is the full visual on this page.