6 per cent (Ivory Coast) to a high of 126 per cent (Nicer), ·vorith 19 countries recording rrowth of between 5 and 30 per cent. 14. The volume of money, or broad money, 8/ declined ir. 2 countries (f\1ali an a Seychelles) while increasing-in the remaining 30, where the rate of rrcwth varied between a low of 2.6 per cent (Sierra Leone) anc a hieh cf 87 per cent (Deanda). 15. The slow-oown in monetary expansion was mainly due to the ccntracticnary effect of e:xternal deficits, rather than the adcp­ti on of more restrained monetary policies. Net foreign assets dropped from a positive amount eauivalent to about $5 billion at the end of 1980 tc a nepative total of $1.2 billion one year late~. In fact, monetary policies remained expansionary, with the growth rate of domestic c re Oi t risine from 24 per cent in 1980 to 36 per cent j_n 1981. These over-all rates for Africa were heavily influenced by oevelopments in the Nigerian economy. Niperia 's fcreirn eychanre reserves were depleted in 1981, as a result of acverse movements in the world petroleum market; at the same time credit to the public sector increased by as ~uch as 93 per cent to finance the erowinr rovernment bucret deficit . • 99 E /E CA I c i·1 • 9 I 5 Table V.B.1 Frequency cistribution of countries according to the rates of growth of money supply (M1) and volume of money (M2) ~ 1981 Number of countries Rate of growth (Percentage) Money supply (M1 ) Volume of money (M2) Less than 0 3 2 0-5 1 3 5-10 3 4 10-20 6 5 20-30 10 7 30-40 4 4 40-50 - 1 4 50-60 2 2 60-70 0 0 80-90 0 1 100-110 1 0 120-130 1 0 