Gov’t targets 2.8% GDP growth in 2023 outpacing IMF and World Bank projections
In the presentation of the 2024 Budget, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta revealed the government’s ambitious target of achieving an overall real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 2.8% in 2024.
This exceeds earlier projections from both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which had estimated growth at 1.5% and 1.6% respectively, highlighting the nation’s strong economic resurgence.
Non-Oil real GDP is anticipated to grow at an average rate of 2.1%, contributing to the overall economic expansion.
Finance Minister Ofori-Atta emphasized the robust growth in the Services and Agriculture sectors, with averages of 6.3% and 6.2%, respectively, serving as key drivers of the positive momentum.
Agriculture recorded significant growth, increasing from 4.3% in the first half of 2022 to 6.3% in the corresponding period in 2023. The Crops and Livestock subsectors were key contributors to this growth, recording rates of 6.8%.
The Services sector experienced a notable growth of 6.3% in the first half of 2023, compared to 5.0% in the same period in 2022. The Information and Communication subsector led with a remarkable growth rate of 23.2%.
In contrast, the Industry sector contracted by 2.2%, primarily influenced by contractions in subsectors, except Mining and Quarrying.
Provisional estimates from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicate a strong rebound in real GDP growth, averaging 3.2% in the first half of 2023. This compares favorably to the 2.9% recorded during the same period in 2022.
The Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta attributed the positive economic indicators to the effectiveness of macroeconomic adjustment policies under the IMF-supported PC-PEG.
He highlighted wide-ranging reforms and a comprehensive debt exchange program, emphasizing their role in achieving economic stabilization and recovery.
“The macroeconomic adjustment policies under the IMF-supported PC-PEG, combined with wide-ranging reforms and the comprehensive debt exchange programme, are yielding the right outcomes as we see clear signs of economic stabilisation and recovery,” he noted.
Ghana’s economic performance in 2023 presents a positive trajectory, with the government’s fiscal and economic policies contributing to a resilient and expanding economy.
