Youth unemployment exceeds 32%; about 12m Ghanaians are between 15 and 35 years – GSS

In Ghana, the youth unemployment rate exceeded 32% during the first three quarters of 2025, with 12 million people aged 15 to 35, making up roughly one-third of the country's population. This represents the largest youth population in Ghana's history. The Ghana Statistical Service's annual report, Ghana in Numbers, 2025, examines whether this large youth population is being matched by the necessary education, skills, and work opportunities.

Unemployment was 32.4% for those aged 15 to 24 and 21.9% for those aged 15 to 35, compared to the national average of 12.8%. Additionally, 17.9% of young people aged 15 to 35 were neither employed nor enrolled in education or training, known as the NEET rate. Women accounted for more than 60% of this group. The report also highlights that job quality and skills matching matter, with only 58% of employed youth indicating their skills matched their job requirements.

Over 70% of jobs are informal, meaning the youth employment question is about the nature of the work as well as whether it uses the person's training. Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, Government Statistician, emphasized that the NEET group consists of nearly two million young people who are neither working nor in education or training, with a majority of them being young women.

Ghana's demographic opportunity lies in its youth, but this window is closing, as the share of children aged 0 to 14 has decreased from 41.8% in 2000 to 35.0% in 2025, while the youth share remains around 35%.