IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

On Tuesday, 25 November 2014, Stats SA will introduce new and improved GDP estimates. In the following video clip, the Deputy Director-General for Economic Statistics, Joe de Beer, provides a brief overview of the changes and what you can expect from Tuesday’s release.

Click here for the video clip

To ensure that gross domestic product (GDP) estimates remain relevant, countries periodically make improvements to the way in which national accounts are calculated. This is done to ensure that major changes in the structure of the economy are incorporated into the calculations, and that the method of calculating GDP is aligned with the latest international standards. Rebasing and benchmarking of GDP estimates is done every five years. Rebasing involves changing the reference year for the real estimates of national accounts; it is for this reason that the reference year for South Africa has been changed from 2005 to 2010. Benchmarking involves incorporating data from new or additional sources into the estimates so as to provide a better picture of the current structure of the economy.

The new estimates have also been aligned to the internationally adopted 2008 System of National Accounts (SNA 2008). You may recall that GDP estimates were previously calculated using the 1993 System of National Accounts (SNA 1993).

Click here for more information on the changes to the new estimates.