Amman, Nov. 30 (Petra) - Jordan’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the national statistical system and improve the quality of economic data have placed the review of the country’s GDP framework at the center of its economic modernization drive. The overhaul is designed to give policymakers a clearer, more precise reading of economic performance, aligned with structural shifts in recent years, and to support more credible fiscal, monetary and investment decision-making geared toward medium- and long-term growth.

Former ministers and economic experts told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the revision marks a pivotal step toward modernizing the statistical infrastructure and aligning it with international standards, reinforcing investor confidence in the national economy.

Former Finance Minister Mohammad Abu Hammour said GDP is one of the most critical indicators guiding strategic and development decisions, providing an objective assessment of economic activity. He noted that the System of National Accounts used globally for economic statistics has undergone continuous updates for more than seven decades to keep pace with global economic shifts and to capture economic activity with greater accuracy.

He said the review conducted by the Department of Statistics forms a key pillar of the Economic Modernization Vision, improving data quality, methodologies and coverage, and incorporating new data sources that enabled the inclusion of previously uncounted economic activities.

Abu Hammour added that the revised framework will deliver more accurate readings of the economy’s size and performance, influencing a range of indicators such as growth, unemployment and inflation. This, he said, will deepen the government’s and the Central Bank’s understanding of economic realities and help them shape more effective fiscal and monetary policies, while boosting transparency and strengthening trust among investors and international financial institutions.

Former Minister of State for Economic Affairs Yousef Mansur said recalculating GDP using updated international methodologies has had an immediate impact on macroeconomic readings, with the size of the national economy rising to about JD40 billion, up from roughly JD36 billion under previous estimates.

He said the increase stems from the inclusion of previously uncounted productive activities, particularly in real estate, construction and agriculture, among other sectors, which added around JD3.6 billion to GDP.

Mansur said improved data sends positive signals to policymakers and investors, strengthening confidence at home and abroad and supporting Jordan’s investment profile and its ability to attract foreign capital. While better data do not translate directly into higher household incomes, they enhance economic planning, growth forecasting and public-expenditure management. A stronger global perception of Jordan’s economy, he noted, influences borrowing costs, interest rates and investment inflows.

He also praised recent government steps to stimulate the economy reducing fees, easing procedures for productive sectors and boosting industrial activity which he said helped raise disposable income for households, producers and investors.

Former Investment Minister Khuloud Al-Saqqaf said reviewing the GDP framework is essential to improving the accuracy of economic-performance measurement and updating the base year to better reflect structural changes in the economy.

She said the revision followed global best practices in national-accounts compilation, strengthening methodologies and expanding data sources to improve the reliability of figures.

Al-Saqqaf said the integration of new sectors such as technology, digital services and renewable energy and the recalibration of weights for traditional sectors is expected to increase the overall size of GDP and improve macroeconomic readings. She said accounting adjustments will likely reduce the ratios of public debt and fiscal deficit to GDP, though this does not change the actual burden of debt service, which still requires sustained fiscal and structural reforms.

She added that the updated framework gives Jordan greater transparency in the eyes of investors and international institutions, supporting economic planning and fiscal policy with more timely and accurate data, in line with the goals of the Economic Modernisation Vision and Vision 2033.

Economic expert Nouh Sheyyab said the latest revision represents a comprehensive update of GDP-calculation methods, reflecting international best practice and completed in cooperation with ESCWA and the IMF. Such alignment, he said, is crucial to ensuring that national data accurately reflect real economic activity.

He said the most significant change was updating the base year from 2016 to 2023, a major adjustment that captures structural shifts in the economy and provides a more realistic measure of GDP.

Sheyyab noted that the recalculation for 2023 put GDP at JD39.8 billion an increase of JD3.6 billion and a 10 percent rise from previous estimates affecting several indicators, including per capita income.

He said the revision strengthens the quality and precision of national-accounts data, giving policymakers a clearer and more credible picture of economic performance and supporting better-informed fiscal, monetary and investment decisions.

//Petra// AF