The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed that approximately 2 million young people in Ghana are neither employed nor in education or training. This statistic raises concerns about youth unemployment and the country's ability to harness its growing youthful population for economic development. The Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, disclosed this information at the launch of the Ghana in Numbers 2025 publication in Accra.
According to Dr. Iddrisu, about 12 million Ghanaians are aged between 15 and 35, but the country continues to face significant challenges in providing adequate employment and educational opportunities for its young population. Almost one in three jobseekers aged between 15 and 24 cannot find work, while more than six in 10 young people who are neither working nor in education or training are women.
The figures highlight the urgency of addressing the barriers preventing young people from accessing employment, education, and skills development opportunities. Dr. Iddrisu warned that the nation's ability to benefit from its youthful population will depend largely on decisions taken in the coming years to improve education, develop relevant skills, and expand employment opportunities.
Dr. Iddrisu emphasized that Ghana's youth window is open, but it is closing. He stated that the choices made on schooling, skills, and jobs in the next 10 years will decide whether it becomes a dividend or a burden. The GSS's findings also revealed that informal employment remains widespread despite a significant expansion in the number of businesses operating in the country.
According to the GSS's first Integrated Business Establishment Survey (IBES-1), 2.64 million business establishments were recorded in 2024, nearly three times the number recorded in 2014. However, the number of people working in those establishments only doubled over the same period, suggesting that the expansion of businesses has not translated into employment growth at the same pace.
The GSS pointed out that although the country's unemployment rate declined from 14.6 percent in 2023 to 12.8 percent in 2025, the figures on youth unemployment and exclusion from education and training point to persistent challenges in ensuring that economic activity translates into broader employment opportunities. Dr. Iddrisu stressed the need to support small businesses to expand and formalize, which could strengthen their capacity to create jobs and provide more sustainable livelihoods.
The "Ghana in Numbers 2025" publication also highlighted mixed trends in household welfare. Inflation declined from 54.1 percent in December 2022 to 5.4 percent in December 2025, but food insecurity increased from 37.7 percent in 2024 to 39.8 percent in 2025, affecting an estimated 13 million people. Dr. Iddrisu urged policymakers, businesses, and investors to use the data to guide their decisions, emphasizing that the ultimate objective of producing statistics is to generate practical results.
Key points
- About 2 million young people in Ghana are neither employed nor in education or training.
- The country's unemployment rate declined from 14.6 percent in 2023 to 12.8 percent in 2025.
- Informal employment remains widespread, with about 92 percent of businesses operating informally.
