Ghana has recorded a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the first quarter of 2021 at 3.1%
The figure which includes Oil and Gas is lower than what was recorded in the same period last year which saw a growth rate of 7.0% making it the lowest first quarter figure recorded since 2019.
GDP is the final value of the goods and services produced within the geographic boundaries of a country during a specified period of time, normally a year.
A look at the three sectors that are used in calculating the GDP saw the agricultural sector recording the highest growth of 4.3%, this was followed by the services sector with a growth of 4.0%. The Industry sector also expanded by 1.3%.
Ghana’s economic growth slowed in the first quarter as the recovery from last year’s slump struggles to gain momentum. Ghana’s GDP growth remains below pre-pandemic levels even as the economy is recovering from last year’s pandemic-related movement restrictions and a drop in oil prices that caused its first recession since at least 2007.
Manufacturing, which expanded 1.3% after contracting in the three months through December, was one of the main drivers of growth. The agricultural sector slowed to 4.3%, compared with an 8.2% expansion in the previous quarter. Oil and gas contracted 16.2%, while the hospitality sector shrank 10.7%.
Government Statistician Samuel Kobina Annim told reporters Wednesday in the capital, Accra. The economy grew 0.8% from the previous quarter.
“With the reference point for quarter 1 2020 and quarter 1 2021 on a year on year basis, quarterly GDP from an oil perspective was 3.1 percent for the period quarter 1 2020 and quarter 1 2021 in sharp contrast with what was recorded for quarter 1 2019 and quarter 1 2020 where the economy grew by 7.0 percent”.
“From a non-oil perspective we see that on a year on year basis in quarter 1 2021 the economy grew by 4.6 % and also this is a marked dip from the same period between quarter 1 2019 and quarter 1 2020. Where the economy grew by 7.9 percent so again from an oil and a non-oil perspective, the economy has slowed down with its growth rate on a quarter 1 basis for the period January to March 2019 compared with January to March 2020 relative to 2020 quarter 1 and quarter 1 20201”.
