Ghana to grow by 5.5% in 2022 – World Bank
The has projected a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 5.5% for Ghana.
For 2023, the Bretton Wood projected a GDP growth rate of 5%.
The projected growth rates is contained in the Bank’s January 2022 Global Economic Prospects on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
The Bank’s growth rate projection for 2022 is 0.3 percentage points below government’s 5.8% GDP projection for 2022.
Ghana’s 5.8% growth rate for 2022 is expected to be underpinned by significant growth in the industry sector.
Industry is expected to revert to contributing the highest to overall GDP, despite posting negative growth rates for the past two years as a result of the dire effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector.
The Industry sector is projected to grow by some 6.3 percentage points in 2022 after posting negative growth rates of 3.6 percent and 0.5 percent in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Industry, for the first half 2021, according to the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta in his presentation of the 2022 budget, contracted by 1.3 percentage points.
The sector’s contraction however, compares favourably with an average contraction of 3.2 per cent over the same period in 2020.
The mining and quarrying subsector for instance, the Minister noted during the budget presentation, contracted by 11.2 per cent and 18.9 per cent in the first and second quarters of 2021.
The recorded contractions compares to contractions of 8.8 per cent and 11.6 per cent in the corresponding periods of 2020.
Read: COVID, inflation and debt to decelerate global growth to 3.2% in 2023 – World Bank
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
According to the World Bank, growth in SSA is projected to firm slightly to 3.6 percent in 2022 and 3.8 percent in 2023.
This outlook is nearly a full percentage point below the 2000-19 average, however, reflecting the continued effects of the pandemic, reduced policy support, and policy uncertainty and worsening security situation in some countries.
Elevated commodity prices are expected to support near-term recovery across the region, with higher oil prices and the gradual easing of OPEC+ production cuts benefiting Nigeria and Angola.
Growth in Nigeria is expected to reach 2.5 percent in 2022 and 2.8 percent in 2023, while Angola’s economy is projected to grow by 3 percent on average in 2022-23.
Growth in South Africa is forecast to moderate to its pre-pandemic trend, being held back by structural impediments and elevated levels of public debt.
The Bank further warns of risks to the outlook asserting risks are tilted to the downside and that poverty, food insecurity, rising food prices, and geopolitical tensions could dampen consumer sentiment and hinder growth.
Adding that the region’s recovery from the pandemic remains fragile.
“Output in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) grew by an estimated 3.5 percent in 2021, driven by a rebound in commodity prices and an easing of social restrictions. However, the recovery remains fragile and insufficient to reverse a pandemic-induced increase in poverty and the threat of recurrent COVID-19 outbreaks lingers,” it said.
