Chain-linking GDP
New calculation for estimation of economic growth
The UK Gross Domestic Product is estimated to tell our users two things: - the value of the UK economy; - the growth of the UK economy.
From September 2003, UK economic growth will be calculated in a different way.
At the moment the detailed estimates for growth for different parts of the economy are summed to a total by using information on how important each component was in 1995 as a weight. The year from which this information is drawn is currently updated at 5-yearly intervals. This is described as 'fixed base aggregation'.
The new method, 'annual chain-linking', uses information updated every year to give each component the most relevant weight which can be estimated.
The change will revise the published estimates of economic growth for 1995 to 2001.
Produced by the Office for National Statistics
The chart shows the impact of annual chain-linking on GDP growth estimates.
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Article: Annual chain-linking