KATHMANDU, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's prolonged sluggish economic growth is projected to have continued in the third quarter of the current fiscal year 2025-26, with the country's statistics body estimating growth at 3.51 percent for the quarter.
The projected growth is lower than the 4.05 percent recorded during the same quarter of the previous fiscal year 2024-25, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said on Monday.
According to the preliminary estimates, 16 of the country's 18 economic sectors are expected to have recorded positive growth during the review period. Public administration and defense, and manufacturing were the only two sectors projected to register negative growth.
Although Nepal's manufacturing sector appeared to have partially recovered in fiscal year 2024-25 after recording negative growth for two consecutive fiscal years, it slipped back into negative territory in the third quarter of the current fiscal year.
According to the NSO, the projected growth in the third quarter was primarily driven by higher electricity generation and distribution, increased deposit mobilization and credit disbursement, higher non-life insurance premium collections, and the expansion of the wholesale and retail trade sector.
"However, the overall growth rate remained moderate due to a decline in imports of construction materials, lower paddy production, and reduced domestic output of certain commodities compared to the third quarter of the previous fiscal year," the NSO said in a statement.
Among all sectors, the electricity and gas sector recorded the highest growth rate at 24.88 percent, followed by financial and insurance activities at 10.27 percent, and transportation and storage at 7.83 percent.
The agriculture sector, which contributes the largest share to the economy, is estimated to have grown by 1.58 percent, down from 2.84 percent in the third quarter of the previous fiscal year.
Similarly, the wholesale and retail trade sector, the second-largest contributor to the economy, is estimated to have expanded by 5.25 percent, mainly due to increased domestic production and imports of tradable goods. ■