Kigali: Rwanda’s GDP at current prices was estimated to be 2,062 Billion Frw, in the third quarter of 2018, up from 1,927 in Q3 2017, according to the data by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR. Estimates calculated in 2014 prices show that GDP growth was 7.7 percent higher in real terms compared to Q3 2017, NISR reports.
In Q3 2018, Service sector contributed 48% of GDP, Agriculture 28%, Industry 17% while 7% was attributed to adjustment for taxes less subsides on products.
In this quarter, agriculture sector grew by 6 percent and contributed 1.3 percentage points to the overall GDP growth rate. The growth in agriculture is attributed to food crops which grew by 3 percent, export crops which grew by 6 percent and livestock which grew by 14 percent. The growth of food crops is attributed to harvest of Season B and C of 2018 while the increase in export crops is due to an increased production of tea by 21 percent.
The industry sector grew by 12 percent and contributed 2.1 percentage points to overall GDP growth. The growth in industry sector was mainly attributed to growth in manufacturing and construction activities of 10 percent and 17 percent respectively.
Within manufacturing, Beverages and Tobacco increased by 15 percent, Production of textiles, clothes and leather goods increased by 17 percent while production of construction materials such as metallic products increased by 42 percent while Food processing decreased by one percent due to a decrease in cereal processing.
The service sector grew by 7percent and contributed 3.6 percentage points to overall GDP growth. The growth in Service sector was due to growth of several activities. Within this sector, wholesale and retail trade increased by 12 percent due to an increase in tradable manufactured products; transport activities increased by 17 percent boosted by air transport that increased by 32 percent. Information and Communication increased by 17 percent; Financial services increased by 8 percent while Public administration decreased by 4 percent.
In Q3 of 2018, total final consumption expenditure increased by 3 percent, with household final expenditures increasing by 4 percent. Exports decreased by 13 percent while imports increased by 2 percent. Gross capital formation increased by 26 percent mainly due to imports of capital goods. (End).