Ghana’s economy expands 3.9% in 2nd quarter of 2021

Ghana’s economy expanded by 3.9 per cent in the second quarter of this year, according to provisional figures from the Ghana Statistical Service.

During the same period last year where COVID-19 had emerged, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate was -5.7 per cent.

However, GDP growth rate without oil and gas  for second quarter 2021 was 5.2 per cent, which is against a growth rate of -5.8 per cent recorded the same period last year.

According to the figures, the increase in the GDP growth rate was driven by a strong pick-up in the services and agriculture sectors.

The Health and Social Work (20.75 per cent), Information and Communication Technology (20 per cent), Hotel and Restaurants (18.7 per cent) as well as Fishing (12.7 per cent) sub-sectors expanded significantly.

Importantly, the services sector recorded the highest growth of 11.0 per cent and was followed by the Agriculture sector with a growth of 5.5 per cent . The Industry sector however contracted by 4.3 per cent.

For the Agriculture sector, Forestry and Logging, Livestock and Crops registered growth rates of 11.9 per cent, 5.7 per cent and 4.5  per cent respectively.

With regard to industry, Water supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities registered growth rate of 20.5 per cent, whilst Electricity, Manufacturing and Construction registered GDP of 9.5 per cent, 8.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent.

Real Estate (13.8 per cent); Education (11.8 per cent);  Trade, Repair of Vehicle, Household Goods (10.7 per cent); Transport and Storage (7.6 per cent); Public Administration & Defence, Social Security (6.6 per cent) and Finance and Insurance (5.1 per cent) also recorded expansion in their sub-sectors.

Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, told Joy Business that the growth rate could have been higher, but for the contraction in industry, which was influenced by a shrink in the mining and quarrying sub sector.

The GDP estimate at current prices in purchaser’s value for the 2nd quarter of 2021 was estimated at ¢101.94 billion compared to ¢88,470.1 million in the 2nd quarter of 2020.

However, the non-oil GDP (GDP without Oil and Gas) estimate at current prices for the 2nd quarter of 2021 was ¢97.48 billion compared to ¢85.66 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2020.

The services sector was the largest sector of the Ghanaian economy in the second quarter of 2021 with a share of 50 per cent of GDP at basic prices.

The GDP share of Industry and Agriculture were estimated at 29 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.