This archive report was first published on 2 October 2019.
Kenya's economy expanded by 5.6% in the three months ended June 2019, with the ICT and tourism sectors leading the growth.
According to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the agricultural, manufacturing, and transportation sectors experienced a slowdown, which held back overall growth.
KNBS attributed the slowdown in the agricultural sector to a delay in the onset of the long rains, while the transportation industry was affected by a rise in fuel prices.
The agricultural sector, which accounts for 52% of the country's gross domestic product, registered a 4.1% growth in the second quarter, down from 6.5% recorded over a similar period last year.
However, the sector's performance was supported by a 17.6% increase in the volume of cut flowers from 35,700 tonnes in the second quarter of 2018 to 42,100 tonnes in the period under review, as per KNBS.
Hotels and restaurant operators also recorded improved earnings, benefiting from a rebound in the country's tourism sector.
Despite the growth, the sector's performance was subdued in the wake of jitters earlier in the year following a terrorist attack at the Dusit 2 Hotel in Nairobi.
The accommodation and food services sector expanded by 10.6% in the second quarter of 2019, compared to a growth of 15.4% in the same quarter of 2018, as estimated by the statistics office.
Overall, tourist arrivals contracted marginally from 450,343 visitors in the second quarter of 2018 to 450,124 visitors this year.
The financial and insurance sector recorded 6.7% growth, an improvement from the 4.6% growth recorded over a similar period last year.
Growth in the country's ICT sector was also robust, standing at 11.6% in the three months to June, up from 11% registered in the same period last year.
