Kigali, Sep 17 (IANS): Rwanda's economy grew by 9.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, up from 9.7 per cent recorded in the first quarter, according to data released by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) Monday.

The growth was driven by strong performances in both the industry and service sectors.

The services sector contributed 47 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP), followed by agriculture at 25 per cent and industry at 21 per cent, according to the data.

According to the NISR data, the overall performance of agriculture was 7 percent. Within agriculture, the production of food crops rose by 8 per cent, attributable to agriculture production in the first season of this year.

Industrial growth overall was 15 percent, driven by an 18 per cent rise in construction activities and a 17 per cent increase in manufacturing, the data showed, Xinhua news agency reported.

The growth in manufacturing was boosted by an 18 per cent increase in food processing, and a 29 per cent increase in manufacturing of metal products, machinery and equipment.

The overall growth of the service sector was 10 per cent.

In the second quarter of 2024, GDP at current market prices was estimated at 4,515 billion Rwandan francs (about 3.33 billion U.S. dollars), up from 3,972 billion Rwandan francs in the second quarter of 2023.

NISR said Rwanda's economy is projected to continue its upward trend, with a projection of 6.6 per cent growth in 2024. This growth is expected to be driven by a strong performance in the service and industrial sectors, alongside the recovery of the agriculture sector.

Rwanda's economy grew 8.2 per cent in 2023.

Yusuf Murangwa, Rwandan minister of Finance, said that a relatively low economic growth projection compared to last year is due to the uncertainty of global shocks.