Ghana's economic numbers are getting a makeover. The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) says it'll introduce rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures by the middle of 2027.
Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrissu told Parliament’s Economic and Development Committee on June 9 that the timeline is achievable – provided the Ministry of Finance releases funds on schedule. He stressed that economic data is a key national infrastructure that deserves sustained investment.
The rebasing exercise is critical because it updates the base year used to calculate economic indicators. The current CPI basket relies heavily on data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey 7, conducted back in 2017. That's almost a decade old, meaning it doesn't capture how Ghanaians actually spend money today.
Dr Iddrissu explained that the weight reference period is still 2017, though the price reference period was updated to 2021 to account for the six new regions created in Ghana. Data collection for the Ghana Living Standards Survey 8 is now complete, and that fresh data will form the foundation for the new CPI and GDP numbers.
“The last one we did was in 2017, and it did reflect the consumption pattern at that time, so this new one will definitely affect the consumption pattern of consumers,” Dr Iddrissu said in an earlier interview with JoyBusiness.
Currently, inflation is measured using a basket of 307 items bought by households from 57 markets and 8,337 outlets nationwide. Those items are grouped into 13 divisions, 44 groups, 98 classes, and 156 subclasses.
What could the rebasing mean for inflation and GDP? Economists say the revised methodology could produce a lower inflation rate, a higher one, or simply figures that better reflect reality. The GDP number could also shift significantly.
Ghana has been here before. In 2010, when the base year was changed from 1993 to 2006, the country's GDP jumped by more than 60%. That revision helped push Ghana into lower-middle-income status. Analysts expect the upcoming exercise to again change perceptions of the size and structure of the economy.
Dr Iddrissu acknowledged that the rebasing “will definitely change the dynamics.”
This comes as Ghana's inflation rate has fallen sharply – from 23.5% in January 2025 to 3.7% in May 2026. But after months of steady decline, prices have started edging up again. Dr Iddrissu attributed the recent uptick to rising food costs and urged the government to maintain fiscal discipline while investing in food systems, storage, irrigation, and transport. He also called for measures to address regional inequalities in market access.
The GSS has already completed significant groundwork for the rebasing, including collecting fresh data to update the weights and structure of both GDP and inflation calculations. If funds keep flowing, Ghanaians should see the new numbers by mid-2027.