Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the first quarter of 2021, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) was 3.1 percentage points.
Compared to the same period last year, GDP growth in the first quarter of 2021 declined by 3.9 percentage points as against the recorded 7 percent GDP growth in Q1 2020.
The slowed growth rate in GDP for Q1 2021 when compared to Q1 2020, can be attributed to the country’s slow-paced recovery from the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
According to government statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, the economy grew by 0.8 percentage points from the previous quarter – Q4 2020.
“With the reference point for Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 on a year on year basis, quarterly GDP from an oil perspective was 3.1 percent for the period Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 in sharp contrast with what was recorded for Q1 2019 and Q1 2020 where the economy grew by 7.0 percent.”
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“From a non-oil perspective we see that on a year on year basis in Q1 2021 the economy grew by 4.6 percent and this is a marked dip from the same period between Q1 2019 and Q1 2020. Where the economy grew by 7.9 percent, so again from an oil and a non-oil perspective, the economy has slowed down with its growth rate on a quarter 1 basis for the period January to March 2019 compared with January to March 2020 relative to Q1 2020 and Q1 2021,” he stated.
A look at the three sectors that used in calculating the GDP saw the agricultural sector recording the highest growth of 4.3 percent, this was followed by the services sector with a growth of 4.0 percent and the Industry sector by 1.3 percent.
Manufacturing, which expanded 1.3 percent after contracting in Q4 2020, was one of the main drivers of growth. The agricultural sector slowed to 4.3 percent, compared with an 8.2 percent expansion in the previous quarter.
The Oil and gas sector contracted by 16.2 percent, while the hospitality sector also shrank by 10.7 percent.
