According to the East Africa Economic Outlook 2019 by the African Development Bank (AfDB), East Africa’s real GDP grew last year by an estimated 5.7%, but is projected to remain strong at 5.9% in 2019 and 6.1% in 2020.
Driven largely by its industry and services sectors, Ethiopia leads the countries with the highest economic growth in East Africa. Others on the list are Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya and Djibouti.
S/N |
COUNTRY |
2018(Estimated Real GDP Growth) % |
2019(Projected Real GDP Growth) % |
2020(Projected Real GDP Growth) % |
1. |
Ethiopia |
7.7 |
8.2 |
8.2 |
2. |
Rwanda |
7.2 |
7.8 |
8.0 |
3. |
Tanzania |
6.7 |
6.6 |
6.6 |
4. |
Kenya |
5.9 |
6.0 |
6.1 |
5. |
Djibouti |
5.6 |
5.9 |
5.2 |
In both Ethiopia and Rwanda, real GDP growth has been driven by industry and services. The service sector has also been the main driver of growth in Tanzania and Kenya, followed by the agricultural sector, the main growth driver from the supply side. On the demand side, consumption has been the main driver of economic growth across East Africa.
The service sector dominates the composition of GDP in East Africa, averaging 59%, followed by the agricultural sector, averaging 25.7%. Industry, which includes construction, averaging 15%, and average share of manufactured exports is about 14.6%.
