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 revision should mean that the new growth rate for 2017 stands at 8.1 per cent compared to an old rate of 8.5 per cent.
However, the GSS says this does not mean that growth has declined because the base of the economy has expanded.
The value of the economy and per capita
The economy is now worth GHC256 billion as a result of the rebasing. If this is shared among a population size of 28.96 million, then everyone could get GHC8, 863.
Why rebasing
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.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service, there are three main reasons for the change in the rebased GDP coverage. This includes Methodology, Structural and Coverage.
The change in the base year has 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.
