The International Monetary Fund says it estimates that the gross domestic product of Guinea-Bissau expanded by 5.9 percent last year.

The fund says so in a written statement issued after a party of IMF officials visited Guinea-Bissau to discuss financial assistance to the country.

The statement quotes the head of the IMF mission, Tobias Rasmussen, as saying: “Economic activity has remained buoyant, supported by high cashew prices, increased investment and prudent economic management.”

The government has increased its revenue and kept control of its spending, reducing the fiscal deficit to the equivalent of 1.5 percent of GDP last year from 4.7 percent the year before, the IMF says.