Ghana’s economy is now valued at GH¢256.6 billion after the rebasing of gross domestic product (GDP) based on measurements from 2013 instead of 2006.

This is the second time in less than 10 years that the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is rebasing GDP figures in the country.

The exercise is expected to present an accurate reflection of recent activities in the economy, especially with the coming on board of commercial oil production in the country.

With a bigger base in GDP, there also appears to be a borrowing space now for the government as it will reduce the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio.

There is, however, a negative implication too on the revenue side as tax-to-GDP ratio is also expected to drop, which may require the government to put in additional measures to boost revenue mobilisation.

Rebased GDP estimates

The provisional rebased annual GDP estimate for 2013, which is now the base year, is valued at GH¢123.65 billion.

Compared to the old series, the 2013 GDP expanded by 32.4 per cent while the rebased GDP expanded by 24.6 per cent in 2017.

The 2017 provisional rebased annual GDP, including oil at constant 2013 prices, is now estimated at GH¢145.43 billion.

Growth rate for 2017 has also been revised to 8.1 per cent following the rebasing, while non-oil GDP at constant 2013 prices was also revised to 4.6 per cent in 2017.

Sector performance

The services sector continued to be the largest contributor to GDP in 2017 as it contributed GH¢108.69 billion, representing 45.6 per cent of GDP.

This was followed by industry which recorded GH¢79.01 billion, representing 33.2 per cent.

The lowest contributor was the agricultural sector which contributed GH¢50.55 billion, representing 21.2 per cent.

Use of data

The acting Government Statistician, Mr Baah Wadieh, presenting the revised GDP said the GSS used a lot of data to arrive at the new estimates.

“We use a lot of data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey, the Ghana Labour Force and extensive administrative data from a number of sources,” he stated.

He said the data provided the GSS with a lot of information.

Better estimates

Mr Wadieh said the new GDP provided better coverage and estimates for the economy.

“We are able to now estimate better and it gives a truer picture than the previous computation. The previous computation was using 2006 as the base year and by international practice, it is recommended that the GDP should be rebased after every five years,” he noted.