The Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently released its Highlights Of The First Quarter Gross Domestic Product (January – March) 2019 Report, which shows that in the first quarter of the year the value of GDP grew by 6.6%, down from 7.5% in the same period last year.
GDP in absolute terms at current prices was TZS 33,709,171 million compared to TZS 32,132,681 million in the similar quarter of 2018.
Further, the value of GDP at constant prices increased to TZS 30,019,412 million in the first quarter of 2019 from TZS 28,173,964 million in the corresponding quarter of 2018, equivalent to a growth of 6.6% (base year 2015).
The largest share of GDP in the first quarter of 2019 was from Tertiary activities which accounted to 40%, followed by Primary activities (36%) and Secondary activities (24%), before adjustment for taxes.
During the period under review, Construction activity recorded the highest growth of 13.2%, followed by Transport and Storage (11.1%) and Mining and Quarrying (10.0%).
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that real GDP growth of Tanzania will be 4.0% in 2019, and 4.2% in 2020, warning that Tanzania’s short-term economic growth is undermined by a slow budget implementation, a challenging business environment, and private sector concerns about authorities’ enforcement of rules.
Economic Growth in the East Africa Region
The economic performance in the East Africa Region during Q1 2019 show a general slowdown in economic growth in the Region.
Kenya’s GDP grew by 5.6% in Q1 2019 versus 6.5% in Q1 2018. Rwanda’s economy expanded by 8.4% compared to 10.4%, and Uganda grew by 5.6% compared to 6.9% in Q1 2018.