Report on economic and social conditions in west Africa in 2005 and prospects for 2006 : part two : policies to transform the informal sector into the formal sector

Abstract

The recent OECD classification of countries, based on the Human Development Index, shows a relatively high number of African countries in the category of least developed countries. According to this same source, these are low-income countries, with a low level of education and health and high economic vulnerability. They are currently fifty of this category of countries in the world, with thirty-four in Africa; twelve of these thirty-four African countries are in West Africa. Since West Africa comprises fifteen countries, this means that eighty percent of countries in the sub-region are classified among the least developed, in other words, countries in which there is widespread poverty.