The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report forecasts a growth rate of 2.8%for South Africa during 2013, rising slightly to only 3.3% in 2014, owing to sluggish mining production and weakened demand from the eurozone, which remains a key export market for the country.

The 2013 figure was in line with an update released in January, but below the increase of 3% in gross domestic product (GDP) growth projected in the October WEO. The 2014 projection was somewhat lower, however, than the 4.1% increase in growth forecast released by the IMF in its January update.

Nevertheless, both the 2013 and 2014 forecasts were a modest improvement on GDP growth of 2.5%, which South Africa recorded for 2012 – a year in which Africa’s largest economy experienced protracted industrial-relations strife in the mining, transport and farming sectors.

The report, released on Tuesday, expected sub-Saharan Africa to maintain its strong growth momentum over the coming two years, with both resource-rich and lower-income economies benefiting from robust domestic demand.

The region, the April WEO forecasts, would collectively experience growth of 5.6% during 2013, on the back of ongoing investment in infrastructure and productive capacity, as well as continuing robust consumption.

During 2012, sub-Saharan Africa grew by 4.8%, which was lower than the WEO’s October forecast of 5%. The weaker performance was attributed to lower non-oil output in Nigeria and labour stoppages in South Africa.

The headline growth was also impacted by the interruption of oil exports from South Sudan and civil conflict in Mali and Guinea-Bissau.

A main driver of growth for the region in 2014, when the IMF expected the pace of expansion to accelerate to 6.1%, would be the strengthening of activity in middle-income countries, such as Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Botswana.

Each country in sub-Saharan Africa, barring South Africa and Equatorial Guinea, was expected to deliver growth above 4% in 2013 and 2014. Equatorial Guinea was expected to contract to -2.1% in 2013, narrowing to 0.8% in 2014.

Mozambique, which recorded a 7.5% growth rate last year, was expected to sustain its strong pace, reaching 8.4% in 2013 and 8% in 2014.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was projected to grow by 8.3% in 2013, lowering to 6.4% in 2014, while Côte d'Ivoire would hold a steady 8% growth rate this year and.

Botswana and Senegal would grow at 4.1% and 4% respectively in 2012, ticking up slightly to 4.2% and 4.6% in 2014 respectively.

In Nigeria, the report commented that the rebound from the floods and implementation of power sector reform would boost its growth in 2013 by 7.2%.

The WEO report argued that global prospects had improved, but warned that the road to recovery in the advanced economies would “remain bumpy”.

The IMF expects the world economy to expand by 3.3% this year and by 4% in 2014, with advanced economies growing by 1.2% this year and 2.2% in 2014.

Emerging economies, by contrast, were poised to grow by 5.3% in 2013 and by 5.7% next year.

“What was until now a two-speed recovery, strong in emerging market and developing economies but weaker in advanced economies, is becoming a three-speed recovery,” the authors noted.

“Emerging market and developing economies are still going strong, but in advanced economies, there appears to be a growing bifurcation between the US on one hand and the euro area on the other.”