Page | 1 Democracy and Economic Growth in Sub-Sahara Africa Samuel Kwame Oteng* Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, P. O. Box GP 630, Accra Email: osk2013@yahoo.com Stella Awo Kpogli** Stegli13@gmail.com ABSTRACT The relationship between economic growth and democracy, and which is a pre-condition for the other is a contested area in the Social Sciences especially among Political Scientist and Economists. The complex relationship between democracy and economic growth is a question that has preoccupied academics and policymakers for several decades. The link between democracy and economic growth is the subject of a large literature in political science and economics. Sub-Sahara Africa experienced a wave of democratization in the 1980s. Most countries in the region held elections, legalized multi-party systems and introduced term limits for their leaders. The belief was that democracy could bring about strong institutions to fight corruption, provide market oriented enabling environment for economic growth and ensure participation, among others. Democracy was belief to promote economic growth and was viewed as the “primary vehicle” for the fulfillment of individual aspirations, the articulation of interests and the nurturing of civil society. Today, the call for democratization and multi-party is on the ascendency in Africa, yet the continent still remains the poorest in the world. The very belief associated with democracy i.e., growth and development have not been realized as almost all democratic sub-Saharan African Countries are wallowing in poverty. This paper assessed democratization in Sub-Sahara Africa. Specifically, it explores the debate of democracy before economic growth or economic growth before democracy. The paper is presented in three (3) sections namely the introduction, discussions and conclusion. KEY WORDS Democracy, Economic Growth, Sub-Sahara, Democratization, Elections