More than 360,000 Ghanaians moved above the national poverty line in the third quarter of 2025, according to the latest data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The report, part of the quarterly Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS), highlights one of the most significant short-term improvements in household welfare recorded in recent years.
Strong gains in household consumption
The GSS attributes the reduction in poverty levels to increases in household consumption, improved food security in several regions, and targeted social support initiatives.
According to the Service, these factors boosted real incomes for many families, allowing a substantial number to rise above the minimum welfare threshold.
Profound and persistent inequalities between rural and urban communities—alongside stark regional disparities—risk undermining Ghana’s recent gains in poverty reduction, according to a major new government report released today.
The Quarterly Multidimensional Poverty Report for 2024 to 2025 Q3, presented in Accra by Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, shows that the national poverty headcount fell from 24.9 per cent in the final quarter of 2024 to 21.9 per cent by the third quarter of 2025.
In concrete terms, the number of multidimensionally poor Ghanaians declined from 8.2 million to “a little over 7 million people.”
“Encouragingly, over 360,000 people moved out of multidimensional poverty between Q2 and Q3 of 2025 alone, confirming a sustained decline in poverty over the period,” the report states.
Yet the broader picture remains uneven. Ghana continues to develop at two very different speeds, with rural areas facing far deeper hardship. Rural poverty incidence stood at 31.9 per cent in Q3 2025—more than twice the urban rate of 14.2 per cent, a gap of more than 17 percentage points.
Regional differences still exist
Despite the national progress, the GSS cautions that poverty remains unevenly distributed across regions. Northern Ghana and parts of Savannah and Oti continue to record higher poverty rates than the national average, although they also experienced measurable improvements during the period.
Regional differences are even more striking. According to the report, “North East and Savannah Regions recorded the highest poverty incidence, exceeding 50 per cent in both Q2 and Q3 2025, while Greater Accra and Western Regions remained below 20 per cent.”
In absolute numbers, both the densely populated Ashanti and Northern regions have more than one million multidimensionally poor residents each.
The report identified health and living conditions as the key drivers of persistent deprivation, together accounting for more than 74 per cent of poverty’s composition.
Lack of health insurance
Lack of health insurance is the single largest factor at 26.5 per cent, followed by nutrition (14.4 per cent) and employment deprivation (12.3 per cent). Of particular concern are the “emerging pressures” beyond the health sector—most notably a near doubling of overcrowding and deprivation, as well as rising school attendance deprivation between Q2 and Q3 2025.
Education and employment
Education and stable employment remain powerful safeguards against hardship. Poverty incidence reaches 38.5 per cent among households led by someone with no formal education, but drops sharply to 5.7 per cent for those headed by a person with tertiary education.
A similar pattern appears in employment: households with an unemployed head experience a 35.6 per cent poverty rate, compared to 5.3 per cent in those headed by a public sector worker.
The burden is heaviest on vulnerable populations. Poverty affects 43.0 per cent of households headed by persons with severe disabilities—especially those with hearing difficulties—and 33.1 per cent of households in informal unions.
Meanwhile, the number of people facing the “triple burden” of poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity rose slightly to 227,500.
Notably, the highest concentrations are not found in the poorest regions, but rather in the urban hubs of Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Central.
Presenting the findings, Dr Iddrisu emphasised the need for precision in the national response. “What these findings demand is not general responses, but practical, targeted solutions,” he said.
To address the challenges, the report recommends expanding National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) coverage, accelerating investment in sanitation and safe water, strengthening school retention efforts, and scaling up skills development initiatives.
