Ghana’s economy remains services-led – GSS

• Posted on March 18, 2026March 18, 2026
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The services sector remained the largest contributor to economic activity in Ghana,, growing by 8.1%, contributed 58.2% of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, and accounted for the largest share of the economy at 45.9%, the Government Statistician, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, has announced.

Dr Iddrisu said that Ghana’s economy remains services-led: In 2025, sectoral shares of GDP were Services (45.9%), Industry (31.3%), and Agriculture (22.8%).

Digital and knowledge-based activities led sectoral expansion, he said. The strongest service drivers were Information and Communication (20.2%), Education (11.6%), Transport and Storage (8.6%), and Financial and Insurance Activities (6.8%).

Dr Iddrisu added that “A small number of sectors drove most of the growth: Information and Communication, Crops, Gold, Manufacturing, Transport and Storage, and Education together contributed about 87% of total GDP growth in 2025, highlighting the main engines of economic expansion.”

Per the data released by the Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita increased to GH¢42,502 in 2025 from GH¢ 35,834 in 2024, representing a growth of 18.6% between the two years.

In dollar terms,  the GSS said, the GDP per capita increased by 33.9% from US$2,527 in 2024 to US$3,385 in 2025 partly on the back of the exchange rate appreciation.

Ghana’s economy grew by 5.8% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, up from 4% in Q4 2024.

Dr Iddrisu said that this indicates stronger year-on-year economic momentum toward the end of the year

He further announced on Tuesday, March 17, that non-oil activities drove most of the expansion: Non-oil GDP grew by 7.1% in Q4 2025, compared with 4.8% in Q4 2024, showing that growth was largely supported by sectors outside oil and gas.

Agriculture recorded improved performance: The agriculture sector grew by 5.3%, up from 3.2%
in Q4 2024, mainly driven by Crops which expanded by 6.6%. Cocoa returned to positive growth at
3.0%, after contracting by 12.8% in Q4 2024.

Industry improved but remained constrained. Industry grew by 1.9%, compared with 0.3% in Q4
2024, but performance was significantly affected by a contraction in Oil and Gas production of
16.8%, despite positive growth in Manufacturing (6.1%) and Electricity (7.2%).

Services remained the main engine of growth. The services sector expanded by 8.6%, accounting
for 50.6% of GDP and contributing 63.4% of overall economic growth.

In its recommendations, the GSS urged households to strengthen financial resilience by managing spending carefully, rebuilding savings, and investing in skills and income opportunities linked to fast-growing sectors such as information and communication, transport and logistics, agriculture value chains, and digital services.

Positioning household economic activities around these expanding sectors will help capture opportunities created by the improving economy, the GSS said.

To businesses, it asked them to direct investment and expansion toward the fastest-growing parts of the economy, particularly information and communication, transport and storage, manufacturing, agriculture value chains, education services, and financial services, which are among the key drivers of GDP growth. At the same time, firms should strengthen productivity, adopt technology, manage costs, and diversify supply chains to remain competitive in an environment where growth across sectors remains uneven.

The GSS also asked the government to sustain growth momentum by scaling support for high-performing sectors/sub-sectors, especially ICT, crops, manufacturing, transport and logistics, education, and financial services, while addressing persistent weaknesses in oil and gas, mining, forestry, and other contracting activities.

Continued investment in agricultural productivity, agroprocessing, logistics infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and industrial value chains will help sustain non-oil growth and broaden the sources of Ghana’s economic expansion.