Guinea-Bissau - Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in Guinea-Bissau was 16.75 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 50 years was 48.40 in 1992, while its lowest value was 6.70 in 2012.

Definition: Gross capital formation (formerly gross domestic investment) consists of outlays on additions to the fixed assets of the economy plus net changes in the level of inventories. Fixed assets include land improvements (fences, ditches, drains, and so on); plant, machinery, and equipment purchases; and the construction of roads, railways, and the like, including schools, offices, hospitals, private residential dwellings, and commercial and industrial buildings. Inventories are stocks of goods held by firms to meet temporary or unexpected fluctuations in production or sales, and "work in progress." According to the 1993 SNA, net acquisitions of valuables are also considered capital formation.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1970 29.57
1971 28.00
1972 22.75
1973 20.89
1974 16.82
1975 15.40
1976 16.26
1977 19.78
1978 21.70
1979 21.84
1980 28.18
1981 25.75
1982 28.26
1983 22.66
1984 37.72
1985 35.10
1986 23.78
1987 35.21
1988 44.70
1989 38.98
1990 29.93
1991 30.99
1992 48.40
1993 30.86
1994 21.77
1995 22.30
1996 23.05
1997 24.00
1998 11.37
1999 15.55
2000 11.74
2001 10.22
2002 7.42
2003 9.08
2004 8.82
2005 11.03
2006 9.99
2007 12.52
2008 12.79
2009 10.80
2010 10.79
2011 9.93
2012 6.70
2013 7.22
2014 11.42
2015 8.09
2016 7.82
2017 9.00
2018 17.26
2019 20.32
2020 16.75

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities. The quality of data on government fixed capital formation depends on the quality of government accounting systems (which tend to be weak in developing countries). Measures of fixed capital formation by households and corporations - particularly capital outlays by small, unincorporated enterprises - are usually unreliable. Estimates of changes in inventories are rarely complete but usually include the most important activities or commodities. In some countries these estimates are derived as a composite residual along with household final consumption expenditure. According to national accounts conventions, adjustments should be made for appreciation of the value of inventory holdings due to price changes, but this is not always done. In highly inflationary economies this element can be substantial.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts