China Says Economy Grew Faster Than Thought in 2021

(Bloomberg) — China’s 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) was about $80 billion larger than first calculated, the National Bureau of Statistics said, a revision that added the equivalent of Ghana’s output to the size of the world’s second-largest economy.

The nation’s GDP was 114.9 trillion yuan ($16.5 trillion), 556.7 billion yuan larger than what was calculated previously, the NBS said in a statement Tuesday. The revision put China’s economic growth last year at 8.4%, compared with 8.1% in the preliminary reading released in January.

The NBS usually releases preliminary GDP results for the previous year in January and final results by the end of the next January, based on revisions for factors such as the collection of more comprehensive data from businesses. Tuesday’s announcement means the comparison base for economic expansion this year has become higher.