Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL) hosted a press conference on May 10, 2024, at their King Street Office, aiming to enhance credible data for national development.

Deputy Statistician General Lansana Kpewolo Kanneh highlighted SSL’s role in producing official statistics, with a focus on economic statistics such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP, a key indicator of economic health, stability, and performance, is produced annually by SSL since 2001.

Yearly, SSL produces key economic statistics, notably the National Account, with GDP being the most common one. GDP serves as a vital indicator, elucidating Sierra Leone’s economic health and stability, benchmarked against international standards set by entities like the UN Statistical Institution, the IMF, and the World Bank.

Andrew Bryma Gegbe, Director of the Nation Account Economic Statistics Division (NAESD), highlighted GDP as a crucial measure for assessing macroeconomic health, including the country’s progress towards national development priorities like the MTNDP 2024-2030 and the SDGs. Re-basing GDP offers insight into the current economic landscape, informing policy reviews to align with prevailing economic dynamics.

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The 2008 SNA Country Action Plan aimed at improving Sierra Leone’s National Account Statistics, translating into strategic objectives in 2019. These objectives include re-basing GDP estimates to reflect recent economic trends, introducing new compilation systems, and estimating quarterly GDP.

Re-based GDP results indicate significant shifts in Sierra Leone’s economic structure, with growth observed in agriculture, industry (mainly construction and mining), and services sectors. While these changes signal economic diversification, they don’t directly correlate with poverty levels but provide policymakers with crucial insights to address welfare and poverty issues.