The economic survey detailing 2012 performance has been released. During the year, real GDP grew 4.6%, up from 4.4% in the previous year and below Sub-Saharan Africa growth of 4.8%. Average inflation fell from a peak of 14% in 2011 to 9.4% in 2012 and this decline is expected to be sustained further into 2013. Real average earnings however declined 4.8% due to inflation. The labour market grew 5.5% to 659,400 jobs. Jobs created in the formal sector reduced 8.4% while the informal sector grew 7.4%. Informal sector jobs accounted for 89.7% of new jobs while the remainder was formal. On governance, pending cases in court reduced 3.5% to 627,370 while prison population reduced 20.3% to 196,911. Kenya’s trade balance worsened 8.7% to KES 856.8bn as imports grew 5.7% on stable exports. Even though the capital account improved 31.7% to KES 438bn, the current account degenerated 5.6% to KES 359.5bn. The overall balance of payments improved on the previous year as a result of a buildup of reserves by the Central Bank of Kenya.
Financial, retail intermediation and construction were the leading growth sectors in Kenya for 2012 with a growth of 6.5%, 6.4% and 4.8% respectively. Financial intermediation growth slowed from 7.8%, wholesale and retail trade slowed from a growth of 7.3%. Construction rose from 4.3% to 4.8%, boosted by both government spending on infrastructure and private sector. Transport and telecommunications grew 4% (vs 4.7%) while agriculture grew 3.8% (vs 1.5% in 2011), manufacturing 3.1% (vs 3.4% in 2011). As agriculture has the largest weight in GDP contribution, despite the reduction in growth for the other sectors, the economy posted a modest growth. Key crops which contributed to the growth during the year were coffee, maize and wheat with production rising 35%, 16.3% and 53.6%.
Tourist arrivals fell 6.1% to 1.7m with performance being weighed down by reduced traffic from the Euro zone, and on travel advisories brought about by security concerns. During 2012, demand for petroleum products declined 5.7% as a result of reduced thermal generation. Pipeline throughput of white petroleum however rose 14.2% as a result of increased demand both in Kenya and in the region. Electricity energy consumption however grew 2.2% 6,414m KWh. Earnings from railway transport rose 22.4% as a result of higher tariff and restructuring of Rift Valley Railways. Total throughput at the port of Mombasa rose 9.9% to 22m tones. Mobile subscriber base increased 25.3% to 29.7m while internet subscriptions rose 37.1% to 8.5m.
(KNBS, SIB)