Ghana’s economy expands 4.9% in the first quarter of 2020

This is a decline compared to 6.7% in the same period last year.

According to the GSS, the services sector recorded the highest growth of 9.5%; the Agriculture sector grew by 2.8% and the Industry sector by 1.5%.

The services sector contributed 3.6 percentage points (73.1%) to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 4.9% in the first quarter.

The government statistician, Prof Samuel Kobina Annim, announced the figures at a News briefing in Tamale on Wednesday (June 17, 2020).

Prof Annim explained that the main sub-sector drivers of GDP in the first quarter of 2020 were Information & Communication, Manufacturing, Education and Public Administration and Defence, and Social Security.

Information and Communication sub-sector expanded to 77.4% in the first quarter of 2020 from 67.6% in quarter one of 2019. It contributed 2.10 percentage points or 42.7% to GDP growth.

The manufacturing sub-sector saw a lower growth of 5% in the period under review as against 5.6% in the same period of 2019. Its contribution to overall GDP growth was 0.60 percentage points or 12.2%.

The Public Administration & Defence, Social Security sub-sector expanded by 13.6% in the first quarter from 9% in quarter one of 2019 contributing 0.40 percentage points to GDP growth.

The trade, repair of vehicle, household goods construction, forestry and logging and professional, administrative and support activities were the negative contributors to GDP growth in quarter one.

The Construction sub-sector for instance contracted by 6.9% during the period and contributed -10.6% to GDP growth.

GDP growth rate without oil and gas (Non-Oil GDP) for the first quarter of 2020 is 4.9% which compares to the same period in 2019 with a growth rate of 6.0%.