Senegal ‘grows’ on GDP relook

● Senegal’s economy is almost a third bigger than previously estimated after its statistical agency changed its base for measuring GDP.

The country’s GDP at current prices measured 11.25-trillion CFA francs in 2016, the National Statistics Agency said in a statement on its website.

That’s 29% bigger than the previous estimate of 8.7-trillion francs, according to IMF data.

The statistical agency changed its base year to 2014 from 1999 and included new data sources to better reflect the structure of the economy, it said.

The economy expanded at 6.2% in 2016, the agency said. That compares with the IMF’s previous estimate of 6.7%.

Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania revised all their GDP data in 2014, resulting in increases of between 25% and 75% in the size of those economies. Ghana will publish overhauled data from the second quarter.

Senegal will maintain an expansion rate of about 7% until 2022, according to the IMF.