Kenya has surpassed Angola to become the third largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, this is according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Kenya trails Nigeria and South Africa, respectively as the third-largest economy in the continent, and the largest in the East and Central African bloc.

In 2019, the Kenyan shilling held steady against the United States dollar while the Angolan kwanza was devalued. Inversely, the Angolan economy has taken a hit as their oil output has been on a steady decline since 2016.

Kenya’s economy has been on a steady rise since 2013, hitting shy of a GDP of $100 billion in 2019.

In the last few weeks, the World Bank, Africa Development Bank and the IMF loaned Kenya a combined total of KSh207 billion to safeguard the economy from the adverse economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kenya’s economy is expected to contract by 1 per cent this year according to IMF data.