Washington - While Africa has managed to avoid the worst effects of a recession that has gripped most other parts of the globe, the International Monetary Fund warned that the downturn could erase much of the hard-won gains made by the world's poorest continent over the past few years.

Growth in Africa will slow to 2 per cent this year, down from 5.2 per cent in 2008, before recovering to 3.9 per cent in 2010, the IMF said in its updated World Economic Outlook.

African exports have been hammered as global trade is set to shrink 11 per cent this year, while a drop in commodity and energy prices has also decimated the budgets of some governments.

Other countries have a limited stake in the global financial crisis, which has driven private investors out of developing countries and into safer bets like US government bonds.

Oil exporters including Angola and Equatorial Guinea have been hit hardest, along with some emerging economies like South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius that have been exposed to all aspects of the global recession.

South Africa's economy is expected to shrink 0.3 per cent in 2009 - its worst performance in a decade - before recovering to a growth rate of 1.9 per cent in 2010. (dpa)