Rwanda’s economy registered 9.2% growth in the first quarter of 2023, despite persistent global shocks and climate change impact.
According to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda earlier today, GDP at current market prices was estimated at Frw 3,901 billion, up from Frw 3,021 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2022.
Growth was buoyed by services which contributed 44%, agriculture 27%, industry 22% while net direct taxes and subsidies on products accounted for 8% of GDP.
However, agriculture performed dismally. The underperformance of the sector is attributed to unfavorable climatic conditions which led to 1% growth, and contributed 0.2 percentage points to overall GDP growth. Production of food crops decreased by 3% while the production of export crops increased by 25%.
The industry sector grew by 9% and contributed 1.7 percentage points to GDP growth. Construction activities increased by 1%, mining and quarrying increased by 15% while manufacturing activities increased by 16%.
Service sector grew by 13%. Wholesale & retail trade increased by 17%; transport activities increased by 19%, hotel and restaurants grew by 42%, financial services increased by 12%, and telecommunication services increased by 43%. Meanwhile professional & scientific services dropped by 6%. Public administration services increased by 7% and education services by 13%. However, health services recorded negative growth of 3% following a high growth of 22% in the same quarter of 2022. (End)