Zimbabwe’s economy is now 40% larger after their statistics agency rebased key data.

The Zimbabwe Mail quoted Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube as saying, “Our economy is bigger than we think and the new calculations took into account the large informal sector for the first time."

Matt Mossman from African Arguments told Bloomberg in 2014 that:

Quote Message: [GDP rebasings] provide a clearer look at an economy, and in particular they capture where the most growth is coming from. But they also highlight the problem with GDP as a statistic – it’s never accurate, and often, in developing countries, it’s not even close."

[GDP rebasings] provide a clearer look at an economy, and in particular they capture where the most growth is coming from. But they also highlight the problem with GDP as a statistic – it’s never accurate, and often, in developing countries, it’s not even close."

Zimbabwe’s economy faced a myriad of challenges under former President Robert Mugabe including high levels of unemployment and poverty which newly-elected President Emmerson Mnangagwa has pledged to end.

The finance minister had earlier announced that the economy will grow by 6.3% this financial year buoyed by the agriculture and mining sector, reports news site Daily Maverick.