percent attained in 2008.

The estimate is however higher than government's target of 12.3 percent including oil and 7.0 percent excluding oil enshrined in the 2010 Budget.

In real terms, the provisional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimate for this year was GH¢27.48 billion, an increase of 13.6 percent over the 2010 estimate of GH¢24.187 billion.

However, in nominal terms at current market prices, the provisional GDP for 2011 was estimated at GH¢56.282 billion, which means that the size of the economy or goods and services produce within the period was GH¢56.282 billion.

The country still maintained its middle income status and remains in the lower bracket.

Buoyed by oil, industry recorded the highest growth rate of 36.2 percent followed by the services sector which recorded a growth rate of 4.2 percent compared to 9.8 percent in 2010 followed by agriculture which recorded the lowest growth of 2.8 percent as against 5.3 percent growth in 2010.

The dismal performance of the services and agriculture sectors is expected to create bother among economists, analysts and market watchers respectively.

With regard to industry, the high growth rate according to the GSS was mainly due to the inclusion of crude oil production in the mining and quarrying subsector, which it estimates will grow at 225.4 percent by the end of the year.

The electricity and construction sub-sectors were also expected to record 13.7 and 17 percent respectively.

However, the manufacturing and the water and sewerage sectors recorded slow growths of 1.7 and 1.9 percent respectively.

Four out of 11 sub sectors in the services sector were estimated to record relatively high growth rates.

They include Community, Social and Personal Services, 12 percent; Information and communication, 10.5 percent; Public Administration and Defense, 7.3 percent; Transport and Storage, 7.1 percent and Health and Social, 6.1 percent.

On the other hand, activities of hotels and restaurants were expected to decline by 11 percent.

The low growth in the agriculture sector was however attributed to the decline in forestry and logging activities by -14.0 percent while that of fishing was estimated to grow at 1.7 percent.

The crops and livestock sub sectors were expected to record 5.4 and 5.1 percent growth respectively.

An increase of 14 percent growth in cocoa output contributed significantly to the crops sector.

In 2010, the economy recorded a 7.7 percent growth rate. Per capita income of the country was however $1,343 or GH¢1,907 while the economy was revalued at GH¢46.232 billion or $32.558 billion.

The GDP was measured using 2006 as the reference year while the estimates were compiled with all the three approaches, production, expenditure and income.

 By Charles Nixon Yeboah