Kenya ranked as the third fastest growing economy in the world

Kenya has been ranked as the third fastest growing economy in the world.

IMF expects the world economic growth to grow at 3.2 percent in 2015 after a 3.3 percent growth in each of the past two years. According to a report by Bloomberg Business, the strongest growth is projected to be in South and East Asia as well as much of Africa with China, the Philippines, Kenya, India and Indonesia expected to grow by more than 5 percent.

In a list of top 20 fastest growing economies in the world in 2015, Kenya and Africa’s largest economy Nigeria are the only African countries to have made it to the list with a projected growth of 6 percent and 4.9 percent respectively.

China leads the way with the fastest growing economy in the world, projected to be 7.1 percent although it would be the country’s lowest in 15 years and is followed closely by the Philippines.

Although unemployment and poverty still high – 40 percent of Kenyans live below the poverty line – the East African nation economy will record the fastest growth in Africa and third fastest in the world. The economy is expected to greatly benefit from low fuel prices, which are expected to result in falling general prices and dividend from investing in infrastructure projects.

With the country set to become a newly-industrialised middle-income country by 2030, it is still ravaged by corruption and insecurity, poverty and hunger with over 80 percent of its GDP coming from its mainly rain fed agriculture. But the government is hopeful, the huge investments made in education, health, security and infrastructural development will spur the economic growth to even greater heights with Bloomberg and projecting an even better growth of 7 percent in 2016.

According to president Uhuru Kenyatta, to maintain Kenya’s economic growth, the country will require large-scale, institutional and systematic interventions to deliver services and generate opportunities to all. Also the contribution of the 47 devolved governments towards development and poverty reduction will be a major factor in future.

Kenya’s National Treasury is projecting even a more improved growth of 6.9 per cent this year, with the initial projection of 6.5 percent. Other institutions projecting Kenya to prosper are Citi and World bank at 6.0 per cent. The Central Bank of Kenya’s monetary policy committee says a 12 month growth in private sector credit which now stands at 21.8 percent as at January this year has increased the confidence in the economy.

The Bloomberg survey included a total of 57 countries, and other countries that made the top 20 list included Peru, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Turkey, South Korea, Poland, Mexico, Ireland, U.A.E, Kazakhstan, Colombia, and Singapore.