Sierra Leone - Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in Sierra Leone was 12.10 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 40 years was 42.04 in 2011, while its lowest value was -2.42 in 1997.

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
1980 16.21
1981 19.09
1982 13.38
1983 14.28
1984 12.71
1985 10.92
1986 10.64
1987 10.19
1988 5.89
1989 8.33
1990 13.01
1991 10.91
1992 8.37
1993 7.75
1994 8.66
1995 5.57
1996 11.04
1997 -2.42
1998 5.31
1999 0.29
2000 1.10
2001 10.87
2002 11.67
2003 11.23
2004 10.32
2005 11.30
2006 10.38
2007 9.45
2008 9.11
2009 9.99
2010 31.09
2011 42.04
2012 27.48
2013 13.76
2014 13.69
2015 15.53
2016 20.12
2017 18.59
2018 14.83
2019 12.53
2020 12.10

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