Kenya has overtaken Angola as the third-largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, new estimates by the International Monetary Fund released on Friday show.
Kenya, which for a long time has been the fourth-largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa is now behind Nigeria and South Africa in dollar terms.
According to Bloomberg, Angola’s economy has been contracting every year since 2016 as oil output declined and their currency, the kwanza was devalued in 2019 while Kenya’s shilling held steady.
The coronavirus pandemic and restrictions to limit its spread will probably see Angola’s gross domestic product contract 1.4 percent in 2020, while Kenya’s is surprisingly projected to grow by one percent, according to the IMF report.
Kenya surpasses Angola as sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest economy https://t.co/A21nXiDfFg
— Bloomberg Africa (@BBGAfrica) June 5, 2020
According to IMF, Angola, an oil-dependent country, recently had its national assembly approve a package of revenue and expenditure measures to fight the COVID-19 outbreak in the country and minimize its negative economic impact.