Kenya quarterly gross domestic product first quarter 2024

Abstract

The economy expanded by 5.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to a growth of 5.5 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2023. The growth was primarily buoyed by robust growths in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing activities (6.1%), Real Estate (6.6%), Financial and Insurance (7.0%), Information and Communication (7.8%) and Accommodation & Food Services (28.0%). Similar to the first quarter of 2023, agricultural production was vibrant in the corresponding quarter of 2024, owing to favourable weather conditions that supported crop and animal production during the quarter. Performance of transportation activities was comparably high relative to similar quarter of 2023, partly attributable to thriving agricultural activities. In hospitality industry, accommodation and food service activities sustained the growth momentum that started in the 2022 recovery from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, growth of the financial and insurance activities accelerated from 5.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 to 7.0 per cent during the review quarter.

The quarter under review registered mixed performance of key macroeconomic indicators. Inflation eased to an average of 6.29 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 from 9.13 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2023 mainly driven by lower prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages.