The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) recently issued its Economic Bulletin For The Quarter Ending December 2021, which forecasts GDP growth of 5.2 percent in 2022.
According to the central bank, the economy continued to recover from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Q1 2021, thanks to the re-opening of the global economy and the implementation of policy recovery measures.
Tanzania Mainland’s economy increased by +5.2 percent in the quarter ending September 2021, compared to 4.4 percent in the same quarter in 2020, owing mostly to construction, agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and public administration activities.
As a result, growth in the first three quarters of 2021 was 4.9 percent, compared to the aim of 5 percent.
Accommodations and restaurants saw the highest growth of 14.3 percent in the quarter ending September 2021, compared to a negative growth of 25.1 percent in the same period in 2020, owing mostly to an increase in the number of tourist arrivals.
Other activities that improved significantly were mining and quarrying (+12.2 percent), owing to an increase in gold, coal, and gypsum production; electricity (+10 percent), due to an increase in electricity demanded and distributed; and information and communication (+9.3 percent), owing to the expansion of broadcasting and internet services.
Tanzania’s Economy in 2022
Tanzania’s new president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, delivered her first address to parliament in April 2021, outlining the Sixth Phase Government’s aims for the following five years in order to achieve an annual GDP growth rate of at least 8%.
The IMF, on the other hand, forecasts GDP growth in Tanzania of +4.0 percent in 2021 and 2022, and 6.0 percent in 2026.
