Research firm, IC Africa, is upbeat about the growth of the Ghanaian economy in 2024, saying, the economy will expand by about 3.4%, higher than the 2.9% growth rate in 2023.

This is however lower than the 4.3% UK-based Fitch Solutions is projecting.

According to the firm, the overall growth conditions and the outlook for key sectors, particularly the industrial activities, deepen its expectation for the start of modest economic recovery in 2024.

Its 2024 forecast range for overall real Gross Domestic Product GDP) growth is between 2.9% – 3.9%

“We tip the extractive sector to hold industry aloft with construction and manufacturing improvements adding further tailwind for industrial growth”, it disclosed in its commentary of the quarter one, 2024 Gross Domestic Product figures released by the Ghana Statistical Service.

“In the services sector, we expect ICT, trade, hospitality, finance & insurance activities, and transport & storage to support growth with election-related spending as a key catalyst”, it pointed out.

Ghana’s real sector showed green shoots of emerging recovery from the 2023 trough with a stronger overall growth momentum in the first quarter of 2024 consistent with the full year 2024 growth outlook.

Overall real GDP expanded by 4.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, outpacing the 3.1% outturn in the same period of 2023 and representing the highest quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2022.

The overall growth recovery was powered by a rebound within the industrial sector, which expanded by 6.8% year-on-year as improved activity in key sub-sectors benefited from favourable base effect. However, a moderation in growth in the agriculture (4.1% year-on-year) and services sectors (3.3%) indicates the lingering fragility within the real sector which was emphasised by the slower growth rate in non-oil real GDP at 4.2% year-on-year Q1 2024.

The moderation in services sector growth reflects contractions in fiscal-dependent sectors as the International Monetary Fund induced fiscal restraint triggered a normalisation in public sector activity following the increased recruitment and higher remunerations in Q12023 prior to the IMF programme.