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 places China as the fastest growing economy, followed by Philippines.
Ironically, the survey indicates that Kenya will probably grow 6% in 2015, even as unemployment and poverty remain stubbornly high, with over 40% of Kenyans living below the poverty line. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is projected to expand 4.9% this year, according to the research.
“The world is expected to grow 3.2% in 2015 and 3.7% next year after expanding 3.3% in each of the past two years. China, the Philippines, Kenya, India and Indonesia, which together make up about 16% of the global gross domestic product, are all forecast to grow more than 5% in 2015,” the survey states.
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% and 2.6% this year, respectively.
The Euro area probably will expand just 1.2% 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% in the fourth quarter of 2014 from a year earlier, and is expected to slow to 7% in 2015.
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