This archive report was first published on 6 August 2019.
On August 6, 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Tanzania's economic growth slowed to 6.6% in the first quarter of 2019, down from 7.5% in the same period the previous year.
Construction emerged as the biggest driver of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, with a 13.2% increase in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 15.6% in the corresponding quarter of 2018.
The growth in construction was attributed to an increase in local production of materials such as cement, iron, and steel.
Other sectors that contributed to the growth included transport and storage (11.1%), mining and quarrying (10%), and information and communication (9.6%).
However, the growth in the mining sector was largely due to sustained government interventions over the past two years, which helped rebound from a 5.7% decline in the same period the previous year.
Gold production increased to 8,656.16 kg, while coal production rose to 205,044.74 tonnes in the first quarter of 2019.
