Kenya has emerged third in the top 20 fastest growing economies in the world in 2015 according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg Business.
Kenya and Nigeria are the only African countries that have made it to the list that lplaces China as the fastest growing economy, followed by Philippines.
Ironically, the survey indicates that Kenya will probably grow six per cent in 2015, even as unemployment and poverty remain stubbornly high, with over 40 per cent of Kenyans living below the poverty line.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is projected to expand 4.9 per cent this year, according to the Bloomberg survey released last week.
“The world is expected to grow 3.2 per cent in 2015 and 3.7 per cent next year after expanding 3.3 per cent in each of the past two years. China, the Philippines, Kenya, India and Indonesia, which together make up about 16 per cent of the global gross domestic product, are all forecast to grow more than 5 per cent in 2015,” the survey states.
Asian economy
Other countries on the list include Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Peru, Colombia, South Korea, Taiwan, Poland, Mexico, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Ireland and Kazakhstan.
By comparison, the United States and United Kingdom, which combined account for about a quarter of global growth, are expected to grow 3.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent this year, respectively. The euro area probably will expand just 1.2 per cent as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi deals with a fragile Greece and embarks on a bond-purchase programme to stimulate the region’s growth.
China still remains the fastest-growing G-20 nation, even though the Asian economy is no longer expanding at the pace it did a few years ago. China’s economy grew 7.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014 from a year earlier, and is expected to slow to 7 per cent in 2015.
– Standard Media
