inthe1960s. Theprojected lowgrowthratefor.thedeveloping countries ofAfrica isclosely connected withtheweakcommodity prices(including oil)ontheworld markets, falling exportrevenues, balance-of-payments difficulties, cutbacks in imports andinvestment expenditure and,aboveall,thelongdrought thathas reduced agricultural production (adecline of22percentincereals production duringtheperiod1980-1984) andhasnecessitated substantial foodimports. withA/40/519 English Page44 developed marketeconomies accounting forthreequarters ofAfrica's external trade andintra-African tradeaccounting forlessthanonetenthofthetotal,the dependence ofthedeveloping countries ofAfricaonthosecountrIes forgrowthand development isevident. Debtservicing isexpected toposeaburdenonmany smaller economies inAfrica; forseveral countries theratioofdebtservice to exports isintheregionof40to50percent. 95.TheGDPoftheLatinAmerican andtheCaribbean economieS isprojected togrow at.amodestannualrateofabout2.8percentin1985and1986(compared witha growthrateof2.6percentfor1984)and4.3percentin1987,withanaverage growthrateof3.9percentayearfortheperiod1985-1990. Thiscompares with theactualannualgrowthperformance of5.2percentinthesecondhalfof the1970sandtheannualgrowthrateof5.8percentinthe1960s. Thesecretariat ofEconomic Commission forLatinAmerica andtheCaribbean (ECLAC) hasrecently estimated thatasaresultofdebtservicing, theregionexperienced anettransfer ofresources (defined astheeXCessofnetremittances ofinterest andprofits Over thenetinflowofcapital fromabroad) totherestoftheworldof$26.7billion in1984($31.0billion in1983),equaltoareduction intheregion's import capacity forsome24percentofitsexports ofgoodsandservices. Theheavydebt burden, duetohighinterest rates,depressed termsoftradeandthesizeofthe largedebt,constitutes thesinglemostimportant constraint oneconomic growthof thosecountries inthemediumterm.Withrecentsuccessful longer-term debt reschedulings forthemajordebtorcountries intheregionandarelative easingin interest ratesinthedeveloped countries, fastergrowthisfeasible. High inflation rates(double-digit andeventreble-digit insomecountries) andhigh unemployment rates,oftenaccompanied bydeteriorating socialconditions and misery, remainimportant problems. 96.TheregionofSouthandEastAsia,because oftheresilience anddiversity of manyofitseconomies, isprojected to-show GDPgrowthatanaverage annualrateof 5.5percentduringtheperiod1985-1990. Thisrateislowerthanthegrowth performance of6.0percentinthesecondhalfofthe1970sand6.4percentfor thedecadeofthe1960s. Manyeconomies oftheregionarehighlydependent on worlddemandofprimary commodities (including oil),andthenewlyindustrializing countries areespecially sensitive toprotectionist pressures onmanufactured goods inthedeveloped countries. Theratioofdebtservice toexports, fortheregion asawhole,isrelatively lowwiththeexception ofseveral majordebtor countries. Aboutthreefifthsofitstotalexternal debtconsists ofofficial loansatconcessionary rates. Nevertheless, debtservicing aggravates the balance-of-payments problem ofmanycountries, especially thelow-income countries, intheregion. 97.Witheconomic recovery expected tocontinue inboththedeveloped andthe developing countries, theworlddemandforoilisprojected torecoveralso,witha beneficial effectonthegrowthperformance oftheoil-exporters aswellasthe oil-importers ofWestAsia,ofwhosetotalGDPtheoil-exporters account foralmost twothirds. TheGDPofWestAsiaasawholeisprojected togrowatanannualrate offrom3.0to3.2percentinboth1985and1986,afterfourconsecutive yearsof negative outputgrowthsince1980andamere1.2percentgrowthin1984.During theperiod1987-1990, thegrowthrateoftheregionshouldbeasteady4.4percent annually. Military conflicts anddisturbances intheregioncontinue tohavean adverse effectonitsgrowthperformance inthemediumterm.A/40/5l9 English Page45 98.TheUSSRandEastern Europehaveexperienced accelerated growthafter registering anaverage annual growthofover3.8percentinNMPin1983and1984 andareprojected togrowatthesteadyaverage annualrateof4.0percentinthe period 1985-1990. Thisisrather lowcompared withtheactualperformance ofthe secondhalfofthe1970s(4.2percent)andtheimpressive growthinthefirsthalf ofthatdecade (6.3percent). Forthisgroupofcountries theeconomy oftheUSSR isexpected toplayaleading role,withthatcountry's emphasis onimproved planning andmanagement systems andeconomic reforms andproductivity gains,while someEastEuropean economies, thoughwithimproved external balances and creditworthiness, willstillfeeldebtservicing asaconstraining factorongrowth intheshortandmediumterm.Chinaregistered anupsurge intheeconomic growth rate(anaverage annualrateofover9.5percent)duringtheperiod1982-1984, reflecting thegainsfromeconomic reforms carried outintheruralsector· andthe emphasis placed onmaterial incentives andtheuseofthemarket. Barring
**Analysis**
The text discusses various economic issues and trends in different regions, including the developing countries of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South and East Asia, and the USSR and Eastern Europe. The text highlights the impact of factors such as commodity prices, debt servicing, and economic reforms on economic growth and development.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade