News / National
Zimbabwe economy grew 9%
23 Oct 2022 at 17:18hrs | Views
ZIMBABWE'S statistical agency says the economy grew by a staggering 8.5% last year from a decline of 7.8% in the prior year, exposing a wide discrepancy between official figures and those computed by other reputable institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The nation experienced a decline from 201920 due to climate change-induced droughts, the outbreak of the Covid-19 and policy missteps.
While the government is upbeat that the economy is now on the mend and will register strong growth after the decline, multilateral financial institutions and independent economists say without any key economic and political governance reforms Zimbabwe will record modest growth rates.
The World Bank says Zimbabwe's economy grew 5.8% in 2021 and is expected to grow by 3.4% this year. The IMF says the economy expanded by 7.2% in 2021.
According to the Zimbabwe Statistical Agency (ZimStat) National Accounts 2019-21 report, the annual gross domestic product at current levels for years 2019 to 2021 is estimated at ZW$212.17 billion, ZW$195.59 and ZW$212.15 for the years 2019 to 2021 respectively.
Real GDP declined by 7.8% and grew by 8.5% in 2021 in 2021. The report shows that the manufacturing sector, which in 2019 at 14.2% was the second-largest contributor to the economy after wholesale and retail trade, has been contributing less since then while other sectors such as agriculture have been improving. Mining and quarrying were listed as the third-largest contributors to real GDP while financial and insurance services were fifth placed.
In 2020, the manufacturing sector, according to ZimStat, contributed 12.6% to the economy before further dropping to 11.7%. This, experts say may reflect on how uncompetitive the sector is in growing exports both in the region and beyond.
According to the World Bank, lack of diversity of exports is primarily due to macroeconomic instability, coupled with a difficult business environment, particularly distortions that limit competitiveness.
The nation experienced a decline from 201920 due to climate change-induced droughts, the outbreak of the Covid-19 and policy missteps.
While the government is upbeat that the economy is now on the mend and will register strong growth after the decline, multilateral financial institutions and independent economists say without any key economic and political governance reforms Zimbabwe will record modest growth rates.
The World Bank says Zimbabwe's economy grew 5.8% in 2021 and is expected to grow by 3.4% this year. The IMF says the economy expanded by 7.2% in 2021.
Real GDP declined by 7.8% and grew by 8.5% in 2021 in 2021. The report shows that the manufacturing sector, which in 2019 at 14.2% was the second-largest contributor to the economy after wholesale and retail trade, has been contributing less since then while other sectors such as agriculture have been improving. Mining and quarrying were listed as the third-largest contributors to real GDP while financial and insurance services were fifth placed.
In 2020, the manufacturing sector, according to ZimStat, contributed 12.6% to the economy before further dropping to 11.7%. This, experts say may reflect on how uncompetitive the sector is in growing exports both in the region and beyond.
According to the World Bank, lack of diversity of exports is primarily due to macroeconomic instability, coupled with a difficult business environment, particularly distortions that limit competitiveness.
Source - thenewshawks
