Top 5 countries within the East African Community with the highest real GDP growth
A recent report has revealed that the East African Community (EAC) posted an astounding 5.4% economic growth in 2024, indicating a robust recovery and resilience in the face of global and regional economic concerns. Top 5 countries within the East African Community with the highest real GDP growth
Business Insider Africa presents the top 5 countries within the East African Community with the highest real GDP growth.
This list is courtesy of the Economic Survey report by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics.
Rwanda ranks number 1.
This good trend ranks the EAC among Africa's fastest-growing regional blocs, thanks to increasing intra-regional trade, infrastructure investment, and a recovery in important sectors including agriculture, services, and manufacturing.
The expansion comes as many regions throughout the world are dealing with inflation, mounting debt, and supply chain problems.
The EAC's 5.4% growth rate reflects coordinated economic policies, improvements in cross-border trade facilitation, and continued implementation of the EAC Common Market Protocol.
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organization of seven partner countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Established with the goal of promoting economic, political, and social integration, the EAC represents a market of more than 300 million people and is growing in strategic importance both within Africa and beyond.
The EAC has emerged as Africa's integration lighthouse, achieving significant strides in policy harmonization, non-tariff obstacles elimination, and investor attraction.
However, obstacles such as political instability, infrastructure deficiencies, and bureaucratic impediments remain.
Despite these challenges, the region has shown that it can remain persistent in developing its economy collectively.
In October, 2024, it was reported that the East African Community outperformed other African sub-regions with a growth rate of 4.7% in 2024 and an anticipated rate of 5.7% in 2025–2026.
This figure according to the Economic Survey report by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics, showed that the region's growth rate has gone from 4.7% to 5.4% considering the economic activities of months after October (Q4 2024).
The countries that contributed most to the East African Community's growth performance between Q1 and Q3 were Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Kenya's economy alone is projected to rise to 5% in 2024 and 5.1% in 2025–2026.
However, given the latest revision in the overall figure, below are the 5 countries in the sub-region with the highest real GDP growth in 2024.
Top 5 countries within the East African Community with the highest real GDP growth
Rank Country Real GDP Growth 2024
1. Rwanda 7.0%
2. Tanzania 6.1%
3. Burundi 6.0%
4. Uganda 5.7%
5, Democratic Republic of Congo 4.7%
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