Cambodia announces GDP rebasing
Cambodia announces GDP rebasing
The Cambodian government has rebased its GDP calculations by taking 2014 as the base year instead of 2000 to give a more accurate account of the current structure of its economy, according to the National Center of Statistics (NCS) under the Ministry of Planning.
The NCS announced the GDP rebasing at a workshop on Tuesday at Sokha Phnom Penh in the presence of Bin Troachhey, Minister of Planning, Phann Phalla, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and representatives of relevant ministries, institutions and developing partners.
Most governments overhaul the methods for GDP calculations every five years or at least every ten years to reflect changes in output and consumption. Cambodia had not done this since 2000.
Cambodia now did this by aligning with the international standards set by the United Nations Statistics Division’s System of National Accounts (SNA) in 2008.
The NCS has come up with a model in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, UNESCAP, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank.
The model has provided a detailed picture of the structure of the economy and the relationship between products and industries in a given year by providing elements of the production process, the use of the goods and services and the income generated.
The Cambodian economy has undergone significant structural changes since 2000, with a shift from agriculture towards services and industry.
The GDP structure has changed reflecting an increased share of manufacturing, construction and service sectors. This revision is to measure the GDP size and structure more accurately, capturing the reality of Cambodia’s fast-changing economic landscape in line with the System of National Accounts 2008 and the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, ISIC 4.0, Troachhey said.
“GDP revision and rebasing are necessary for Cambodia to update its economic structure,” he said in the opening remarks.
Cambodia’s previous GDP calculations used 2000 as the base year. The methods used then to calculate GDP became outdated, failing to capture the full scope of the economic activity, he said.
Rebasing with a more recent base year allows for a more realistic assessment of economic activity across different sectors, he said.
Accurate GDP data is essential for effective policy planning by the government, the General Department of Policy of the Ministry of Economy and Finance said.
“Rebasing provided a more reliable foundation for setting economic targets, allocating resources, and monitoring progress,” it said in its presentation.
Based on the GDP rebasing to 2014, the Cambodian economy was calculated at 160.1 trillion riels or approximately $39.5 billion for 2022, an increase of 5.1 percent and income per person as per this was $2,345.
