Ghana’s economy recovers with 5.3% GDP Q1 growth, led by services and agriculture

Ghana’s economy expanded at a swifter pace in the first quarter of 2025, increasing by 5.3 per cent year-on-year between January and March, up from a revised 4.9 per cent in the course of the same period in 2024. Government Statistician Alhassan Iddrisu told journalists at press conference on (June 11, 2025) in Accra that “This momentum reflects more than just numbers. It signals recovery and the confidence of an economy finding its rhythm in a very complex global environment,”

The increase in growth was largely  triggered by robust performance in the services sector, which remains the key component of the Ghanaian economy, and a significant recovery in agriculture. Services consisted of 46.8 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and extended by 5.9 per cent year-on-year.

In this sector, the Information and Communication sub-sector posted the fastest growth at 13.1 per cent, followed by Financial and Insurance Activities at 9.3 per cent and Transport and Storage at 8.6 per cent.

Agriculture, which resulted in 23.5 per cent to GDP, increased by 6.6 per cent, exceeding industry. Fishing stood out as the top performer  agricultural sub-sector with a 16.4 per cent growth rate. Crops, which dominate the agriculture portfolio, increased by 6.7 per cent. Cocoa, Ghana’s flagship export, recorded a 3.4 per cent year-on-year increase, while livestock increased by 5.6 per cent.

The industrial sector, which was figured as 29.7 per cent of GDP, grew at a slower pace at 3.4 per cent. Manufacturing drove industrial growth with 6.6 per cent growth, while mining and quarrying increased slightly by 1.4 per cent. However, the Oil and Gas segment contracted significantly by 22.1 per cent, dragged down by lower crude production. Water supply and sewerage activities also declined, shrinking by 3.7 per cent.

When stripped of oil and gas, non-oil GDP growth was a more impressive 6.8 per cent for the quarter, reflecting resilience in the broader economy. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the seasonally adjusted GDP grew by 1.4 per cent, an improvement on the 0.9 per cent recorded in the final quarter of 2024. This was led by agriculture’s 1.7 per cent and services’ 1.5 per cent growth, while industry posted a 0.9 per cent gain.

However, no sector were optimistic as well Public Administration and Defence, Education, and Forestry and Logging all experienced declines. The public sector in particular posted a 4.2 per cent year-on-year decline and a 0.9 per cent decline from the prior quarter.

From the demand side, the economic rebound was supported by growing demand. Government final consumption expenditure increased by 8.2 per cent, while household consumption  increased by 4.0 per cent. Investment, evaluated through gross capital formation, increased slightly by 1.1 per cent. The net exports decrease sharply, reflecting Ghana’s ongoing trade deficits

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