Zambia’s Economy Expands at Triple the Pace Forecast by the IMF

By Taonga Mtimingi

Zambia’s economy grew more than expected last year, eclipsing estimates by the government and the International Monetary Fund, after a surge in fourth-quarter output.

Preliminary data shows gross domestic product expanded 4%, compared with 5.4% a year earlier, acting Statistician-General Sheila Mudenda told reporters in Lusaka, the capital, on Thursday. That was way better than the 1.2% expected by the IMF and President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration.

Growth was 8.6% in the three months through December, the fastest pace in more than. Output was buoyed by a rebound in the farming sector, as the southern African nation recovered from its worst drought in more than a century, and a strong performance by the mining industry.

Zambia, the continent’s second-biggest copper producer, last year significantly boosted production of the metal, which it relies on for more than 70% of its export earnings. Total output, including by small-scale miners, climbed to more than 820,000 tons last year, its Mines And Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe said in January.

Agriculture output ballooned 27.6% in the quarter, after contracting 17.3% in the prior three-month period, and mining surged 26.8%, compared with 3% previously.

This article originally appeared on Bloomberg.