Tanzanian Economy to Expand by +5.2% in 2022 With Tourism and Mining on Strong Rebound, Central Bank Forecasts

The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) recently released its Economic Bulletin For The Quarter Ending December 2021, in which it projects that in 2022, GDP growth will reach 5.2%.

The central bank explains that in Q1 2021, the economy continued to recover from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to the re-opening of the global economy and policy recovery measures implemented.

In Tanzania Mainland, the economy grew at +5.2% in the quarter ending September 2021 compared with 4.4% in the corresponding quarter in 2020, largely driven by construction, agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, and public administration activities.

As a result, growth was 4.9% in the first three quarters of 2021 compared with the target of 5%.

During the quarter ending September 2021, accommodations and restaurants recorded the highest growth of 14.3% compared to a negative growth of 25.1% in the corresponding period in 2020, mainly attributed to a sharp increase in the number of tourist arrivals.

The other activities that significantly improved were mining and quarrying (+12.2%) mainly on account of increase in production of gold, coal, and gypsum; electricity (+10%) following an increase in electricity demanded and distributed; and information and communication (+9.3%) attributed to the expansion of broadcasting and internet services.

The Tanzanian Economy in 2022

In April 2021, Tanzania’s new president Samia Suluhu Hassan gave her first speech to the parliament, mentioning the priorities of the Sixth Phase Government in the next five years to reach a GDP growth rate of at least 8% yearly.

However, the IMF projects a GDP growth for Tanzania of +4.0% and +5.1%  in 2021 and 2022, and 6.0% in 2026.