Zambia GDP adds 25 percent after rebasing - stats office

Zambia's gross domestic product is now estimated to be over 25 percent bigger after a rebasing exercise that updated the base year from 1994 to 2010, the country's statistics office said on Thursday.
"According to the new benchmark estimates the GDP for 2010 is estimated at 97.2 billion kwacha( $16.7 billion). The new estimates are 25.2 percentage points higher than the old," acting Central Statistical Office director Goodson Sinyenga said.
The revisions stem from dramatic changes in the structure of the economy in Africa's leading copper producer.
Other African countries such as Nigeria are doing similar exercises to keep pace with the fast-changing nature of their rapidly urbanising economies.
"In 1994 the mining sector was almost non-performing but now the production has increased. In fact, new industries like mobile phone companies have come on board," Sinyenga said.
The new benchmark estimates also included a comprehensive estimation of the informal sector, he said.