By Mwenda Njeru
The Kenyan economy grew by 5.6% in 2023 up from 4.9% in 2022, according to the 2024 Economic Survey report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) even as Kenyans cry high economic times.
According to the report, the growth is the second-fastest in five years, trailing only the 7.6% growth in 2021 and gives hope to Kenyans.
The report indicates that sectors that contributed to this impressive performance were Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, which grew by 6.5%, Information and Communication by 9.3%, Transportation and Storage by 6.2%, Financial and Insurance by 10.1%, Real Estate by 7.3% and Accommodation and Food Service by 33.6%.
Impressively, nominal GDP reached an all-time high of Sh15.1 trillion in 2023, representing a 12% growth from Sh13.4 trillion in 2022.
More encouraging, the GDP per capita rose to Sh293,229 from Sh266,473 in 2022. The report also shows that the labour market improved with 848,100 new jobs created in 2023, an increase of 31,500 from 2022.
The economy is projected to remain robust this year mainly due to sufficient rainfall to boost agricultural activities and an anticipated decrease in commodity prices worldwide signalled by stability of the dollar.
This positive economic outlook is in line with Kenya Vision 2030’s Economic and Macro Pillar ambition to achieve and maintain an annual 10% GDP growth rate up to 2030.
