Power BI dashboard analyzing GDP growth, poverty reduction & informal employment across 6 West African countries over 24 years (2000–2023).
# 📈 Economic Development Dashboard — West Africa (2000–2023)
> An interactive Power BI dashboard analyzing GDP growth, poverty reduction, informal employment, and foreign direct investment across 6 West African countries over 24 years — designed to support economic policy analysis, NGO strategy, and development finance decisions.
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## 📊 Dashboard Preview
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## 🎯 Project Objective
Economic development in West Africa is uneven, complex, and often poorly visualized. This project provides a **multi-country, longitudinal view** of key economic indicators — making it easier for analysts, policymakers, and development organizations to:
- Compare GDP trajectories across coastal vs. landlocked economies
- Track poverty reduction progress from 2000 to 2023
- Understand the structural weight of informal employment by country
- Isolate the economic impact of global crises (2008–2009 financial crisis, 2020 COVID-19)
- Correlate GDP levels with poverty rates across 6 ECOWAS nations
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## 🔍 Key Findings
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Average GDP across 6 countries | **~$8.16 billion USD** |
| Average GDP growth rate | **~0.70% per year** |
| Average poverty reduction (2000–2023) | **~6.85 percentage points** |
| Highest informal employment | **Niger (~89%)** |
| Lowest informal employment | **Senegal (~56%)** |
| Most consistent GDP growth | **Côte d'Ivoire** |
### 3 Key Insights
**1. Coastal economies outperform landlocked ones consistently**
Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Togo show higher and more stable GDP growth than Niger and Burkina Faso — driven by port access, trade diversification, and stronger FDI attraction.
**2. Global crises hit the poorest countries hardest**
The 2008–2009 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 shock created visible dips across all 6 economies — but recovery speed was significantly faster in countries with larger formal sectors.
**3. Informal employment is the structural challenge of the region**
With 56% to 89% of …