By: Kebba AF Touray
Nyakassi M. B. Sanyang, Statistician General of the Gambia Bureau of Statistic (GBoS) has unveiled to the media that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current market prices is estimated at GMD104.9 billion in 2021, compared to the revised estimate of GMD 93.3 billion in 2020.
Sanyang made this disclosure on Tuesday 24th May 2022, during a press briefing with the media, on the provisional GDP estimates for 2021. According to GBoS, the briefing aimed to equip the media with the said GDP estimates for wider publication to enable the general public know the economic position of the Gambia.
“In 2021, GDP at constant market prices is estimated at GMD 64.8 billion compared to the revised estimates of GMD 62.1 billion in 2020,” Sanyang said. The increment he explained is mainly attributed to the recovery from the negative effects of the global Covid-19 Pandemic, which resulted in an increase in economic activities in industries within agriculture and the services sectors.
“GDP per capita is GMD 44,696 which is equivalent to US$867 in 2021, as opposed to GMD 40,936, which is equivalent to US$802 in 2020. The services sector continues to be the major contributor to GDP, with a share of 57.5 percent followed by the agriculture sector with a share of 24.1 percent, and industry, with a share of 18.4 percent,” Sanyang said; that for the year 2021 under review, the agriculture sector has a growth estimate of 4.7 percent, compared to the revised growth of 10.6 percent in 2020, showing a decline of 5.9 percent. This decline he said is mainly due to the decrease in the production activities of crops which registered a growth of -9.1 percent and livestock, which registered a growth of -9.6 percent.
“Industry registered a growth of 10.4 percent in 2021, which is 2.2 percent more that the revised growth rate in 2020. The increase in growth in this sector is as result of an increase in economic activities in construction with a growth of 20.5 percent and electricity supply with a growth of 7.0 percent,” Sanyang told the media.
