Kenya National Bureau of Statistics has said the planned rebasing of national accounts and development of consumption and supply tables will result in improved accuracy and consistency in economic data.
Rebasing is slated for September and is expected to avail fresh input-output ratios and weights, hence provide an updated structure of the economy.
Coverage of growing sectors like communication will be captured more accurately as it will include the phenomenal innovations in mobile money and growth in Internet services.
Acting director-general Zachary Mwangi said last Friday that rebasing will also improve "methodology and implementation of the latest classifications such as the International Standard Industrial Classification for all economic activities".
KNBS said it will publish balanced supply and use tables in this year's economic survey to be released next month.
The change of base year to 2009 from 2001, which has been in use since 2005, will lead to revised quarterly and annual statistics of between 2006 and 2013. The revised data is set to be released later in September.
"Detailed comparative analysis will be provided to explain the changes especially in economic structure and level of estimates by economic activities," Mwangi said.
The obvious expected change is an increase in Kenya's economy measured by gross domestic product which was at Sh3.44 trillion in 2012 based on the 1993 System of National Accounts framework.
Despite the UN Statistical Commission's recommendation of a rebase after every five years, "only a handful of African countries have published accounts" using the prevailing 2008 SNA benchmark, Mwangi said.
Last week, Nigeria overtook South Africa as the largest economy in the continent after a long overdue rebasing. The oil-rich economy is now valued at $510 billion (Sh44.14 trillion) - an 89 per cent surge from where it was before the rebase.
