According to data that was recently released by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Tanzania economy has increased by nearly 33% after rebasing its calculation to include expanding industries such as oil, gas and telecommunications.
Speaking at a press conference for the announcement, Tanzania Finance Minister Saada Mkuya Salum explained the reasoning behind the decision to rebase the country’s GDP.
“The rebasing of the GDP takes into account new transformations in the economy, such as the ongoing mobile phone revolution in the country,” she said.
Hon Salum went on to explain that the national GDP was recorded at approximately TZS 69.8 trillion in 2013, an increase from a previous estimate of TZS 53 trillion and, while farming is still the country’s economic mainstay, sectors such as tourism, mining, communications and financial services are growing and revenues from natural gas discoveries are expected to provide a significant boost to the economy by 2020.
