Economy Expands By 24.6 Percent After Rebasing

By Bernard Benghan And Allia Noshie

Ghana's economy has expanded by 24.6 per cent for last year, according to rebasing figures by the Ghana Statistics Service (GSS).

This was after the GSS reviewed the based year from 2006 to 2013 and the way of calculating economic growth for the country.

The recalculation means that gross domestic product last year grew by 8.1 per cent, not 8.5 per cent as previously estimated, it said.

"Ghana, a major commodity exporter, recalculated its GDP based on measurements from 2013 instead of 2006 to more accurately reflect recent activity in its petroleum, communication technology and construction sectors, acting government statistician Mr Baah Wadieh has disclosed at a press conference in Accra on Friday.

He said per capita rose to 8,863 cedis ($2,035) in 2017, compared to 4,679 cedis at the last rebasing in 2013.

"The rebasing means that current GDP value including oil is estimated at 256.67 billion cedis ($58.9 billion), up from 123.65 billion cedis," Mr. Wadieh added.

Rebasing of national accounts series means that they are replacing the old base year used for compiling the constant price estimates to a new and more recent base year.

Mr. Wadie said there were three main reasons for the change in the rebased GDP coverage.

He mentioned methodology, structural and coverage adding that the change in the base year had also been influenced by a change in the structure of the economy since 2006.

Some activities which had little economic importance in 2006 have gained prominence now and may contribute more to the economy than before.

Sector break down for 2017

Based on the rebased GDP, the Services sector grew by 3.3 per cent in last year, industry by 15.7 per cent and Agric by 6.1 per cent.

This means that industry recorded the highest growth in the economy in 2017.

Based on the rebasing, activities in the agric sector now account for 27 per cent of the economy, Industry 36 per cent, while services still led the pack with 41 per cent.

Implications

The development would affect Ghana's debt to GDP ratio, meaning that government may have to increase tax collections to make for the expected shortfall.

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