Business

Kenya's economy grows 5.6 per cent on agriculture, forestry

Government officials, led by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u (C), are pictured during the launch of the 2024 Economic Survey Report in Nairobi on May 20, 2024. (Photo: X/KNBS)

By Barack Oduor | Monday, May 20, 2024

KEBS said the 2023 growth was primarily driven by a 19 per cent expansion in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

Kenya's economy grew last year despite many difficulties, the Kenya Bureau of Statistics (KBS) has reported, placing the GDP growth rate at 5.6 per cent from a revised 4.9 per cent the previous year.

In the 2024 Economic Survey Report released on Monday, KEBS said the growth was primarily driven by a 19 per cent expansion in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

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Kenya's economy relies on farming, which contributes more than a fifth of annual economic output, and abundant rains after years of drought helped the sector recover from contractions in the previous two years.

"Last year it shot to 7 per cent (growth)," KEBS Director General Macdonald Obudho told an event to launch the report.

The 2024 Economic Survey Report that was launched in Nairobi on May 20, 2024. (Photo: X/KNBS)

Tourism, which is another key sector, also posted growth, Obudho said, with visitor arrivals surpassing the annual pre-pandemic level of 2.035 million, to 2.087 million visitors last year.

KEBS added that formal employment figures in the manufacturing sector grew 2.7 per cent, to 363,200 jobs, in 2023

"The employment level in the construction sector increased by 1.9 per cent, from 231,700 persons in 2022 to 236,000 in 2023," the report states.

The inflation rate remained within set targets during the period under review, while foreign direct investments increased.

The survey also highlighted a widening inequality gap between the richest and poorest countries worldwide, reversing a 20-year trend of convergence.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u speaks during the launch of the 2024 Economic Survey Report in Nairobi on May 20, 2024. (Photo: X/KNBS)

The Treasury said, however, that focus needed to be placed on measures to prevent a reversal of this economic recovery.

"The economy has been trying to unwind from the negative and persistent economic shocks experienced so far. We need strong growth to reduce poverty significantly," Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u said.

"Let's refocus on what type of data is contained in the 2024 Economic Survey Report so as to move the economy forward."

Additional reporting by Reuters