Official Press Release
More Than One-Third of Ghana's Population is Youth
July 28, 2026
Statement
Each year, World Population Day highlights how population dynamics shape countries' development trajectories and influence progress towards sustainable development. This year's observance, under the theme "Investing in Ghana's Future through Healthy, Skilled and Empowered Young People," provides an opportunity to examine a demographic shift that has been reshaping Ghana over the past two decades and the investments needed to harness its full potential.
Ghana's population has grown from 18.9 million in 2000 to 30.8 million, as recorded in the 2021 Population and Housing Census, to an estimated 33.7 million in 2025. Young people aged 15 to 35 accounted for 34.6 percent of the population in 2000 and currently make up 36.9 percent of the projected population. This indicates that more than one in every three persons fall within the youth bracket. This age structure presents Ghana with an opportunity to realise the demographic dividend through investments in education, skills development and health.
Building a skilled and productive workforce requires that young people have meaningful opportunities to participate in the labour market. However, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the first three quarters of 2025 paints a more concerning picture. National unemployment averaged 12.8 percent during the period, while unemployment among young people aged 15 to 35 averaged 21.9 percent, nearly twice the national rate. Regional disparities were also evident as Greater Accra (31.9%), Central (27.4%) and Ashanti (27.2%) regions consistently recorded youth unemployment rates above the national youth average across all three quarters.
Beyond unemployment, nearly two million young people aged 15 to 35, representing about 19.5 percent of the youth population as at the third quarter of 2025, were classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), indicating that they were neither acquiring skills through education nor participating in productive employment. For instance, the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) reported that 15 percent of girls aged 15-19 had ever been pregnant, with 11 percent having given birth. Early pregnancy can interrupt education, limit opportunities for skills development, and reduce long-term economic participation, particularly among young women.
These indicators highlight the importance of investing in skills development and creating pathways from education to decent work for the young Ghanaian. Closing the gap between Ghana's youthful population and labour market outcomes will require sustained investment in technical education and training, stronger school-to-work transition pathways, entrepreneurship development, and the expansion of productive sectors capable of creating decent jobs for the country's growing youth population. When young people are equipped with the right skills and provided with opportunities to apply them, they become active partners in driving inclusive growth rather than passive beneficiaries of development.
As Ghana joins the global community in commemorating World Population Day, the evidence is clear: whether today's young people become the country's greatest economic asset or its most pressing development challenge will depend on the investments made today to keep them healthy, equip them with relevant skills, and empower them to contribute meaningfully to national development.
The full reports, resources, and microdata are available for free download at www.statsghana.gov.gh.
About the Ghana Statistical Service
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) provides comprehensive, reliable, quality, relevant, accurate, and timely statistical information to guide national development as stipulated in Section 3 of the Statistical Service Act, 2019 (Act 1003). The organisation's vision is to be the trusted provider of official statistics for good governance, and its mission is the efficient collection, production, management, and dissemination of quality official statistics based on international standards, using competent and motivated staff for evidence-based decision-making, in support of national development.
The Statistical Service produces monthly and quarterly data on important economic indicators such as inflation, Consumer Price Index, Producer Price Index, and Gross Domestic Product. GSS also regularly generates periodic population, housing, demographic, economic, and agricultural statistics at the locality, district, and national levels from routine surveys and censuses. The statistics generated by GSS can be utilised by a wide cross-section of users, including the public sector, businesses, academia, civil society organisations, and development partners. For more information, visit www.statsghana.gov.gh.