World Bank formally classifies Ghana’s economy as middle-income
The World Bank has classified the economic status of Ghana as middle-income.
According to the Bank’s data website, the classification, which was updated on July 1, 2011, saw Ghana moving from a lower income to a low-middle income country.
The country is among six new entrants to get the status on the World Bank’s classification indicator. The other countries are Fiji, Lao PDR, Mauritania, Solomon Islands and Zambia.
According to the World Bank, lower-middle-income economies had average incomes of $1,006 to $3,975.
Statistics provided by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) after the economy was rebased in November 2010, also indicates that the country’s per capita was $1,343 with a GDP value of $32.5 billion (GH¢46.2 billion).
Ghana now ranks with Egypt, Angola, India and Nigeria but the World Bank says it doesn’t mean the countries have reached the same development stages.
“However this does not imply that economies in the same income group have reached similar stages of development or that high-income economies have reached a preferred or final stage of development,” it noted.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in November 2010 announced that it has rebased Ghana’s economy, saying the size of the economy in real gross domestic product (GDP) terms has been raised threefold placing the country among the lower middle income group of countries.
The World Bank revises its classification of the world’s economies based on estimates of gross national income (GNI) per capita for the previous year.
The updated GNI per capita estimates are also used as input to the World Bank’s operational classification of economies, which determines their lending eligibility, says the Bank.
By Ekow Quandzie
The view of Accra while descending to Kotoka Airport gives a more accurate classification of Ghana. The filth and stench of this country also confirm our true classification.
We are LOW INCOME.
It is not what others think or classifies us to be. It is what we want to be and how we feel and have with the economy that we have. Most Ghanaians are not doing fine. That is the bottom line. We still import tomatoes, pork and beef, plus many other things that we should be producing ourselves.
There is nothing middle-income about Ghana. When Ghanaians are feeling middle-income, no one will need to tell them
Ghana’s economy though re-based is at yet like many other African economies still under-estimated. In considering the filth of the country, how can one blame the government for the filth. In most of the west people have clean and good habits and hence cleaner cities where as we don’t. Nonetheless filth can’t be equated to wealth, a point that should be fairly understood. The fact that we import tomatoes, pork or beef only means that you as an individual isn’teae farming, as in doing much to change the system. Heard of the Dutch disease? can you say the dutch aren’t first world because the import extensively certain crucial products from other countries. Please read and understand what it means to be middle income. It has to do with numbers not well being. The fact that we are middle income does not mean we are all living good lives. Its a figure cooked up based on the GDP of the country and the share each citizen will be proportioned if shared. The sad part is I am more likely to be socialistic in my thinking and you probably capitalist and somehow you expect equal trickle down. Visit the west, US for example and look at the wealth disparity. And think what the place will be like if not for credit that is readily distributed around.
Educate yourself before you write.
GOod post obibinictrl… The ignorance of some people is simply disgraceful!1!
Obibinictrl, i don’t know if you think you’r the most educated but to say that the country is yet importing tomatoes and pork because we are not all farming is pretty lame. You do not need the entire country to farm in order not to import because only 1 percent of America’s population is involved in farming compared to Ghana’s more than 60 percent and yet practically feed us with their 80 years buffer.
And please let me educate you to the effect that those westerners you think have a clean habit is really not true. Please it is not the habit, it’s all about the laid down rules. People do not litter about, people do not pull out their dicks and piss anywhere, people do not breach traffic rules just anyhow, among others because they are well aware of the consequences that lie ahead of them if they are caught and yet they will be caught because they have a proper identification system which gives a database of all residents whether citizen or foreigner. They are punished for such acts of misdemeanor and such punishments may range from two weeks to several months of community service. So let me ask you, does the country have or interested in having this form of community service policy or it only allows offenders go free even when they are caught or maybe someone calling himself a police man rather makes the offender takes bribe and allow him walk? And one more question, who is the overall employer of the public servant which the police service is incidentally part?
Please allow people share their minds without stopping them with your so called socialistic views. I believe you the socialist should rather be the one to really understand human behavior and the best way to have them behave in the society. You talk like a politician, you only know about the problem but have no idea about the solution.