IMF cuts Tanzania's 2019 economic growth forecast to 4pc
Wednesday April 10 2019
Tourists in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. The country is a popular tourist destination as it is home to Africa’s tallest mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro and the Ngorongoro Crater. FILE PHOTO | NATION
The International Monetary Fund lowered its forecast for Tanzania’s economic growth this year and in 2020 to around 4 percent from a previous forecast.
In its World Economic Outlook, released on Tuesday, the Fund also predicted the country’s consumer price inflation will reach 3.5 percent this year and edge up to 4.5 percent in 2020.
Tanzania’s economy will expand at 4 percent this year then accelerate slightly to 4.2 percent next year, from an estimated 6.6 percent in 2018, the Fund said in its forecasts.
In January last year, the IMF said it expected Tanzania’s economy to grow at 6–7 percent over the medium term if the country hiked capital spending and improved its business environment.
Tanzania relies heavily on mining, tourism and telecommunications for state revenues and foreign exchange earnings.
The government forecasts the economy will grow 7.3 percent in 2019 after an estimated 7.2 percent expansion last year, helped by public infrastructure investments.