The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is projecting a record of slower economic growth for the year 2025, driven primarily by weakening performance in the industrial sector.
Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, the Government Statistician, noted that a slow growth, particularly in oil and gas production, would be the major contributor of the moderation in economic momentum, despite continued strength in the services sector.
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Dr Iddrisu, speaking at the release of the November 2025 Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) on Thursday, said the October and November data suggested that economic activity in quarter four remained positive, but slower than the previous year.
This observation comes ahead of the quarter four Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimate, scheduled for release in March 2026, he said, adding that, “growth continues, but the momentum has eased, especially in industry and parts of services.”
The Monthly Economic Growth Index, which serves as an early barometer of quarterly GDP performance, showed Ghana’s economy expanding by just 4.2% in November 2025 compared to 7.1% in November 2024.
Figures from the MIEG report showed the industrial sector growing by 0.4 per cent in November 2025 while contributing 2.5% to overall growth, a sharp contrast to the 6.2% growth in October 2024.
The nearly 41% decline in the growth rate underscored the challenges, particularly in the extractive industries of Ghana, which was declared Africa’s growth champion in 2018 by international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
“This slowdown signals emerging challenges within the extractive industries, which have historically been key contributors to the growth of the economy. The key reason is a decline in mining and quarrying activities, particularly oil and gas production,” he said.
However, the services sector continued to demonstrate resilience, expanding by 6.7% and contributing 57.7% of the overall growth slowdown in November 2025, with its performance driven primarily by information and communication services.
“This confirms the continuing importance of services as an engine of Ghana’s economic growth in recent times,” the Government Statistician noted, though he acknowledged the sector’s growth had also cooled from the 10.2% recorded in November 2024.
Agriculture provided a silver lining, with the sector recording modest improvement to 4.1% growth in November 2025 from 3.8% in 2024, contributing 22.4% to overall economic expansion on the back of fisheries and crop production gains.
“Agriculture shows a steady upward trend over the past few years. This tells us that the sector remains resilient and continues to support food supply and rural livelihoods,” Dr Iddrisu said.
“The pattern of slowing growth across all three major economic sectors – with total growth declining from 7.1% to 4.2% year-on-year – suggests that the fourth quarter GDP may fall short of government projections and potentially complicate fiscal targets under the country’s IMF-supported programme,” he stated.
The quarter four GDP for 2025, which would be released alongside the December 2025 MIEG indicator, would provide a comprehensive picture of how Ghana’s economy closed out the year and offer crucial insights for policymakers navigating 2026’s economic challenges.
