The National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday released the full year 2017 Gross Domestic Product growth rate for the country with the economy growing by 0.82 per cent in 2017.

The 0.82 per cent growth in GDP is an improvement over the contraction of -1.58 per cent which the economy recorded in 2016 during the period of recession.

The bureau in the report which was made available to newsmen said the economy further consolidated its recovery from recession with GDP growing by 1.92 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017, as against 1.4 per cent in the third quarter.

The NBS report said GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2017 was driven by growth in crop production, crude production and natural gas, metal ores, construction, transportation and storage, trade, electricity and gas production.