KIGALI, March 19 (Reuters) – Rwanda’s economy grew 8.9% in 2024 compared with 8.2%the previous year, the country’s statistics office said on Wednesday, driven by good harvests, and a robust performance in the industrial and service sectors.

The economy expanded 8% in the fourth quarter of the year, said Ivan Murenzi, director general of the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda.

Last year the agricultural sector grew 5%, while industry and services each grew 10%, Murenzi told a news conference.

Rwanda’s central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.5% RWREPO=ECI in February for the second monetary policy meeting in a row, saying that despite a recent pickup in inflation it expected it to remain within its target band.

(Reporting by Philbert Girinema; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Bate Felix)