Last year, Rwanda recorded economic growth of 9.4% and GDP reached 9,105 billion Rwandan francs (about $9.6 billion). Figures were provided by the country’s National Institute of Statistics (NISR).

NISR says the good performance was driven by agriculture (24%), industry (18%) and services (49%) sectors. Agriculture was supported by growth in food crops (4%), while growth in export crops was 5%, mainly due to growth in coffee and tea (7% and 3% respectively).

The industry sector was boosted by construction and manufacturing, which grew by 33% and 11% respectively. In services, growth was driven by an increase in wholesale and retail trade of locally manufactured and imported goods (16%); transport services (12%); financial services (8%); and hotel and restaurant services (10%).

On the other hand, in the mining sector, exports of cassiterite and wolfram declined by 23.7% and 6.6% respectively, while Coltan exports increased by 42%.

André Chadrak