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Ghana Gross Domestic Product
Unavailable
Figure 8. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Sector, 1991
Source: Based on information from Economist Intelligence Unit,
Country Profile: Ghana, 1994-95, London, 1994,
16.
In current prices, Ghana's GDP rose from ¢511 billion (for
value of the
cedi--see Glossary) in 1986 to ¢3 trillion in 1992. In
constant 1987 prices, these GDP figures amounted to ¢713 billion
(US$4.62 billion) in 1986 and ¢934 billion (US$6.06 billion) in
1992 (see
table 6, Appendix).
During the 1980s, Ghana's economy registered strong growth of
approximately 6 percent per year because of a reversal in the
steadily declining production of the previous decade. Ghana's worst
years were 1982 and 1983, when the country was hit with the worst
drought in fifty years, bush fires that destroyed crops, and the
lowest cocoa prices of the postwar period. Growth throughout the
remainder of the decade reflected the pace of the economic
recovery, but output remained weak in comparison with 1970
production levels. The same was true of consumption, minimum wages,
and social services.
Growth fell off considerably in 1990 when another drought
caused real GDP growth to decline by nearly two percentage points.
Government estimates claimed that real GDP growth in 1993 was 6.1
percent, which reflected a recovery in cocoa output and an increase
in gold production. At the same time, gross domestic fixed
investment rose from 3.5 percent of the total in 1982 to 12.9
percent in 1992. The share of public consumption in GDP fell from
a peak of 11.1 percent in 1986 to 9.9 percent in 1988, but appeared
to have risen again to 13.3 percent in 1992.
Significant changes have taken place in the structure of GDP
since the ERP began. Agriculture continues to be the bedrock of
Ghana's economy, accounting for more than 48 percent of GDP in
1991. Agriculture's long-term importance has declined, however, in
favor of that of industry, the contribution of which to GDP more
than doubled from 1988 to 1991 when it constituted almost 16
percent of GDP, and in favor of services, the contribution of which
was 35.3 percent in 1991. Notable changes have also occurred within
the broader sectors: cocoa's share rose from 5.6 percent in 1983 to
9.5 percent in 1991; manufacturing's contribution increased from
3.9 percent to 8.7 percent; and construction output from 1.5
percent to 3.5 percent
(see
fig. 8;
table 7, Appendix).
Data as of November 1994
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