Ghana Statistical Service to Rebase GDP and CPI; Launch Innovative Economic Tools in 2026 – Finance Minister
The Government of Ghana has announced plans to complete the rebasing of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) in 2026, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson stated during the presentation of the 2026 Budget Statement themed “The Ghana We Want” to Parliament on Thursday.
Dr Forson explained that the rebasing exercises aim to provide a more accurate reflection of the current economy and cost of living, improving the precision of growth and inflation measurements, fiscal and debt planning, and investment risk assessment. “The result is cleaner signals for targeting jobs, taxes, social protection, and inflation management,” he said.
The GDP rebasing will incorporate emerging growth drivers such as digital innovation, fintech, creative industries, construction, and real estate, while also producing regional GDP estimates for the first time to guide local planning and investment. CPI rebasing will modernize inflation tracking to better capture prices and living costs across all regions.
In addition, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) will scale up its newly launched Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG), a pioneering tool that provides high-frequency insights into production, consumption, trade, and services, offering policymakers and investors early signals of economic shifts.
Dr Forson also announced the launch of Ghana’s first Tourism Satellite Account, designed to quantify the full contribution of the tourism sector to the national economy, following recent surveys including the Ghana International Travellers’ Survey (GITS), Domestic and Outbound Tourism Survey (DOTS), and the Accommodation User Survey (AUS).
A major innovation underway is the integration of administrative data across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies using the Ghana Card’s unique identifier. Once operational, this system is expected to reduce census costs by over 70 percent while providing continuous, high-quality data to support governance and policy-making.
The GSS will also unveil a flagship annual publication, Ghana in Numbers, to present national data in accessible, visual, and globally benchmarked formats. Each edition will focus on key national themes such as youth, jobs, or climate, enhancing transparency, accountability, and public engagement in policy decisions.
To sustain these initiatives, the government is reviewing the Statistical Service Act to strengthen the independence, credibility, and authority of the GSS as a world-class national statistics office.
