Rwanda’s economy grew by 8.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2024, with market value reachingRwf4,806 billion, up from Rwf4,246 billion in the same period of the third quarter of 2023. ALSO READ: Rwanda economy grows by 9.8 percent in second quarter of 2024 This is according to the latest data announced on Tuesday, December 17, by the National Institute of Statistics Rwanda (NISR) and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. Following the economic performance of 9.7 per cent in the first quarter and 9.8 per cent in the second quarter, Yusuf Murangwa, the Minister of Finance, said that they remain cautious in the overall annual growth rate at 6.6 per cent. Rwanda’s economy grew by 8.2 per cent in 2023. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted the country’s economy to grow by 7 per cent this year, leading the rest of the countries in the region. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s economy grew 9.7% in the first quarter of 2024 “The growth that we are seeing in the third quarter is in line with our expectations because we have seen momentum building from the end of last year,” said Murangwa. He added that the institutions normally have conservative expectations that factor in different constraints that could happen, including effects of climate change which mostly affect agriculture performance. Murangwa added that the projections of economic performance in 2025 will be concrete once figures for the fourth quarter are released in the early months of next year. “But from past experience, we are not seeing anything major changing, so the outlook going forward should be good.” The growth in the third quarter was mainly driven by the service sector which grew by 10 per cent, industry by 8 per cent, and agriculture by 4 per cent. Ivan Murenzi, the Director General of NISR, said that services accounted for 49 per cent of GDP, whereas agriculture contributed 24 per cent, and industry 20 per cent. Sector performance Wholesale and retail trade continued to lead in services with an increase of 19 per cent, whereas hotels and restaurants increased by 17 per cent, financial services by 15 per cent, and transport by 8 per cent. The growth in industry was primarily driven by a 26 per cent increase in mining and quarrying activities – observed through exports where quantity of cassiterite increased by 27 per cent, coltan by 42 per cent, and wolfram by 15 per cent. Both manufacturing and construction activities grew 5 per cent. On the other hand, the agriculture sector experienced a 4 per cent rise with food crop production increasing by 2 percent, due to the mild harvest of seasons B and C of 2024. Export crops production increased by 16 per cent driven by a 22 per cent increase in coffee production, while tea production declined by 10 per cent due to heavy rains. Within manufacturing, the production of chemicals, rubber and plastic products increased by 20 percent, metal products, machinery and equipment grew by 14 per cent, while textiles, clothing and leather goods increased by 11 per cent. However, food processing decreased by 1 per cent, following the growth of 16 per cent in Q3 of 2023.
