According to the report released on 25th May 2015 by African Economic Outlook (AEO) and prepared by Mr. Peter Engbo Rasmussen, Principal Country Economist, Zambia Field Office of the African Development Bank (AFDB), Zambia’s economic growth is expected to increase above 6% in 2015/16 and inflation is expected to fall below 7.0% by 2017.
The report also indicates that real GDP declined from 6.7% in 2013 to 5.7% in 2014 due to lower production in the mining sector and slower growth in manufacturing and public services.
However with focus on agriculture and economic diversification the GDP in the coming year is bound to increase.
The agriculture sector saw a growth of over 6% as a result of a bumper maize harvest while diversifying the economy without over dependence on copper and the creation of decent jobs remains a clear goals of the government.
Economic performance is also expected to remain strong in the medium term driven by large investments in infrastructure and a growing public administration and defence.
More recently the main transport corridors that connect the Copperbelt in the north with Livingstone in the south through the capital city Lusaka helped in the growth of the country.
During the past decade Zambia’s economy has shown impressive growth averaging above 7% per annum. Growth was driven by investments in the mining sector with effects into construction, transport, communications, wholesale and retail.
The AEO is a product of collaborative work by three international partners: the African Development Bank, the OECD Development Centre and the United Nations Development Programme.
