ZAMBIA RECORDS 3.2 PERCENT DECREASE IN ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THIRD QUARTER OF 2024
By Conrad Mwango
The Zambia Statistics Agency- ZAMSTATS- says the country’s Gross Domestic Product-GDP- estimates for the third quarter of 2024 grew by 2.5 percent compared to 5.7 percent in the same period last year.
Speaking during the dissemination of the December 2024 monthly bulletin in Lusaka today, ZAMSTATS Acting Statistician General Sheila Mudenda said this represents a slowdown in growth of 3.2 percent compared to the same quarter in 2023.
Mrs. Mudenda has also disclosed that the annual rate of inflation for December 2024 increased to 16.7 percent from 16.5 percent recorded in November, 2024.
She has attributed the increase which represents a 1.2 percent to price movements of both food and non-food items.
Mrs. Mudenda says central province recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 22.2 percent while northern province recorded the lowest at 12.0%.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Mudenda has disclosed that cumulative total trade increased by 41.5% in November, 2024, translating into K530.3 billion compared to K374.8 billion in November, 2023.
PHOENIX NEWS
What a crafty way of publicising things. Why not just tell us by how much percentage our economy has shrunk? The media must stop acting like they are Musokotwane’s spokesperson. Its heading for a recession!
They just told you: the economy has GROWN by 2.5% in the last quarter. It has not shrunk at all. While there is no official definition for a recession, the most commonly used criteria is, “negative economic growth for two consecutive quarters”. The country recorded positive economic growth.
You might be confusing inflation and economic growth/recession. Inflation has grown, causing cost of living to spike. That doesn’t mean the economy is not growing.