First Quarter GDP hits 4.9%, as information and communication drives growth

The economy ended the first quarter with a 4.9% GDP growth rate according to the latest GDP estimates released by the Ghana Statistical Service.
Provisional real quarterly gross domestic product growth rate (QGDP) including Oil and Gas, by the production approach, is 4.9% (year on year) in the first quarter of 2020.
In the same period in 2019, the growth was 6.7%.
The 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%.

Sectorial performance
The Services sector recorded the highest growth of 9.5%; the Agriculture sector expanded by 2.8% and the Industry sector by 1.5%.

Quarterly breakdown
The year-on-year quarterly GDP growth rate for Agriculture is 2.8% for the first quarter of 2020.
The Fishing sub-sector recorded the highest year-on-year growth rate of 14.1% while the Forestry and logging sub-sector recorded the lowest, with a contraction (-7.1%).
The year-on-year quarterly GDP growth rate for the Industry sector is 1.5% for 2020Q1.
The Electricity sub-sector recorded the highest year-on-year quarterly GDP growth rate of 17.1% for 2020Q1, while the construction sub-sector recorded the lowest, with a contraction (-6.9%).

GDP highlights
The Q1 2020 GDP at current prices was estimated at ¢92,487 million. The corresponding value recorded for Q1 2019 was ¢84,850.6 million.
In constant terms, the Q1 2020 GDP was estimated at ¢42,483.3 million. For Q1 2019, the estimated value was ¢40,495.9 million.
The year-on-year quarterly GDP (Oil) growth rate for Q1 2020 was 4.9% compared to the 6.7% recorded for Q1 2019.
The year-on-year quarterly GDP (Non-Oil) growth rate for Q1 2020 was 4.9% compared to the 6.0% recorded for Q1 2019.
Information and Communication sub-sector is the main driver of GDP growth rate for Q1 2020
The quarter-on-quarter GDP growth rate (seasonally adjusted) for Q1 2020 was 1.2%. The rate recorded for the first quarter of 2019 was also 1.6%.

Source: Joy Business