High Commission for Planning (HCP) has announced that the national economy experienced a slowdown in growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching 3.7%, compared to 4.2% in the same quarter of the previous year. This trend is primarily driven by strong domestic demand but occurs in a context of controlled inflation and increasing financing needs for the economy. The various sectoral components evolved as follows: - Primary Sector: The added value decreased by 4.7%, with a sharp decline of 4.9% in agriculture, while fishing recorded a slight increase of 0.8%. - Secondary Sector: Growth slowed to 4.9%, with a significant deceleration in the extraction industry (6.5% compared to 16.1% the previous year) and the manufacturing industry (3.7% compared to 7.4%). In contrast, construction and public works activities saw substantial growth (7% compared to 2.9%). - Tertiary Sector: This sector grew by 4.2%, driven by a strong increase in accommodation and food services (12.8%) and improvements in public services, trade, and education/health. Overall, the added value of non-agricultural activities saw a slight increase, rising from 4.3% to 4.4%. With a 6.7% increase in net taxes on products after subsidies, GDP in volume terms grew by 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2024. At current prices, GDP increased by 6.2%, leading to a general price level rise of 2.5%, indicating that inflation remained under control compared to the previous year.
