Tanzania’s GDP growth rises to 6.8pc in third quarter

Faster growth in mining, natural gas and construction activities propelled Tanzania’s economy higher in the third quarter of 2017.

Tanzania’s economy grew 6.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter compared with 6.2 percent in the same quarter in 2016, the state-run National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. “Economic activities that increased at significant rates were mining and quarrying (20.8 percent), water supply (19.1 percent), information and communication (13.4 percent), transport and storage (13.0 percent) and manufacturing (12.4 percent),” it said.

The World Bank cut its forecast for Tanzania’s full-year GDP growth in November to 6.6 percent versus the government’s revised growth target of 7.0 percent.

NBS said growth in the mining and quarrying sector was largely driven by an increase in natural gas production, diamond and coal output. “Gas production increased to meet the demand of gas for power generation ... coal production increased in the quarter under review on account of the government ban on coal imports,” the agency said.