Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim
The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in volume terms has been estimated to have increased by 4.2 per cent from January to March 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
When seasonally adjusted, the real GDP increased by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter, that is January to March 2023, making a 0.3 per cent increment than what was recorded in October to December, which is the last quarter of the previous year.
This was revealed in a release prepared by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The release indicated that the main drivers of GDP growth for the first quarter of 2023 with more than 10 per cent expansion include; public administration, defense and social security with 37.6 per cent, health and social work with 31.6 per cent, education with 26.0 per cent, information and communication with 18.9 per cent.
It also showed that the sub-sectors that contracted in the first quarter include; water supply, sewerage, waste management & remediation activities with – 6.4 per cent, construction with -6.0 per cent, wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with -5.3 per cent, fishing -3.3 per cent, mining and quarrying with -2.9 per cent, manufacturing with -2.5 per cent and hotels and restaurants with -0.2 per cent.
Quarterly GDP growth rate, including Oil and Gas, was 4.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 whiles Non-Oil GDP was 5.5per cent for the first quarter of the year.
The release also stated that the services sector recorded the highest growth of 10.1 per cent, followed by the agriculture sector with a growth of 4.8 per cent and the industry sector with a contraction of 3.2 per cent growth rate.
It showed that GDP including Oil and Gas estimate using constant 2013 prices was GH¢48,863.7 million for the first quarter of 2023 compared to GH¢46,877.1 million in the same period in 2022. The Non-Oil GDP at constant 2013 prices was GH¢46,548.2 million compared to GH¢44,113.8million in the same period of 2022.
Also, that GDP estimate at current prices in purchaser’s value was GH¢202,628.6 million compared to GH¢141,116.0 million in the 1st quarter of 2022 and the services sector continues to be the largest sector of the Ghanaian economy in the first quarter of 2023 with a share of 47 per cent of GDP at basic prices.
By Abigail Atinuke Seyram Adeyemi