Some short-term indicators may appear satisfactory. For example, in 1995, the growth of total output on the continent reached its highest level in six years. Moreover, some countries, owing primarily to economic policy reforms, have seen their gross domestic product increase in the past few years. But the structural weaknesses are there, and in many cases, they are becoming more critical. The current improvement in growth rates is still much too slight to compensate for the lag accumulated over 15 years of economic decline.
Economic performance is disappointing, even in countries that have made substantial reforms.
In 1994, for instance, two African countries, Angola and Eritrea, were added by the General Assembly to the list of least developed countries. At the same time, only Botswana moved out of that category. Among the factors hindering Africa's development one can mention inadequate infrastructures, weak institutions, poorly utilized human resources, a great vulnerability to natural and climatic disasters and the impact of unfavourable terms of trade. To this must be added the debt burden, runaway population growth and environmental deterioration. Twenty-five per cent of the arid lands in Africa, for instance, are today experiencing soil degradation.