Mozambique’s economy recorded growth of 3.7% in 2017, the Council of Ministers spokeswoman, Ana Comoana, said in Maputo on Tuesday, restating figures released last Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
The deputy minister of Culture and Tourism, who spoke at the end of the meeting to analyse the figures of the 2017 Social Economic Plan, said that the growth rate was “above the sub-Saharan African average,” although it was below the government’s initial 5.5% forecast.
INE, announcing the estimates for the 2017 Gross Domestic Product, reported that growth in 2017, which was calculated based on figures for the four quarters, was one-tenth of a percentage point lower than in 2016.
Comoana said that Mozambique is expected to have ended the year with an inflation rate of 15.1%, below the government forecast of 15.5% and also lower than the 19.5% recorded in 2016.
Net International Reserves at the end of the year covered 7.3 months of imports of goods and services, with the exception of large projects, in a scenario in which exports grew 1.9% and imports slowed by 22.8%, after a drop of 37.5% in 2016.
The spokeswoman said that the budget deficit in 2017, after donations, stood at 22.7% of GDP, against an initial estimate of 31%.
Comoana also said that tax revenue amounted to 214 billion meticals or 114.7% of the forecast, with total state expenditure of 242 billion meticals and a budget execution rate of 89%.
Source: Macauhub
