The rate of growth in gross domestic product (GDP), given in a cabinet statement on Wednesday, compares with 8.1 percent in the October-December quarter of 2007 and 7.4 percent in the January-March quarter of 2007.

For the first nine months of the financial year which began last July 1, the annualised rate of growth works out at about 7.4 percent, above the rate the government has been forecasting.

Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and his ministers had said they expected the economy would expand at a fraction over 7 percent during the current financial year.

The cabinet statement said the fastest growing sectors were tourism at between 23 and 27 percent, Suez Canal revenue at 19 percent, construction at 15 to 15.5 percent and communications at 13 to 15 percent.

GDP at current market prices was worth 226.5 billion Egyptian pounds in the quarter, compared with 180.8 billion in the same 2007 quarter.

It said this was equivalent to average annual GDP of 12,226 Egyptian pounds per capita.

But the high rate of economic growth has contributed to high inflation, which hit a three-year high of 16.4 percent in the year to April, economists say.