News Room

The month of April typically marks the presentation of the national budget and this week we highlight a term relevant to a nation’s budget - Gross Domestic Product commonly referred to as GDP.

The GDP or Gross Domestic Product of a country is a basic measure of that country’s output. It is the market value of all final goods and services produced in that country. One way of calculating the GDP is to add up consumption, investment, government spending and the difference between imports and exports.

What does this mean for you?

Economists suggest that there is a positive correlation between a country’s GDP and its standard of living. Usually, the higher a country’s Gross Domestic Product, the better the standard of living which means greater access to health care, educational opportunities and reduced levels of poverty for citizens. One of the ways of increasing our GDP is to reduce our import bill by placing greater emphasis on local food production, for example. Additionally, when we buy and consume local products and services, we stimulate local enterprise and economic activity.