Time for a Recount? GDP base years in Africa South of the Sahara

TIME FOR A RECOUNT? Countries calculate GDP starting from a base year, but when the base year becomes out of date, GDP data lose accuracy. The IMF recommends updating the base year every five years. CURRENT BA SE YEARS USED TO CALCULATE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT Benin Central African Republic Equatorial Guinea Swaziland Republic of Congo Nigeria Zimbabwe Angola Democratic Rep. of Congo Mali Ethiopia* Gabon Botswana Chad Eritrea The Gambia Burkina Faso Ghana Madagascar Zambia Burundi Côte d'voire São Tomé and Principe Comoros Senegal Kenya Tanzania Cameroon 2000-2001 Lesotho Liberia Niger Rwanda Guinea-Bissau Sierra Leone Cape Verde Mauritius Namibia Guinea Uganda Mozambique Malawi South Sudan 1985 Togo 1990 South Africa Seychelles 1994 1996 INSIGHTS IFPRInfographic ifpri.org MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE Data source: International Monetary Fund, Sub-Saharan Africa: Building Momentum in a Multi-Speed World [Wash ington, DC, 2013), http://www.imf.org/external/- pubs/ft/reo/2013/afr/eng/sreo05 13.pdf. 1984 1987 1992 1995 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009