Nearly two million young people in Ghana were neither employed nor enrolled in education or training in the third quarter of 2025, with women accounting for more than 60 per cent of the affected population, according to new figures from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The figures, contained in the maiden edition of Ghana in Numbers, 2025, highlight the employment challenges facing the country’s growing youth population, particularly the difficulty many young people face in securing jobs or pursuing further education and skills training.
The report estimates that about 12 million Ghanaians were aged between 15 and 35 in 2025, representing roughly one in every three people in the country.
However, the size of this population has not translated into employment opportunities for a significant proportion of young people.
During the first three quarters of 2025, unemployment averaged 32.4 per cent among people aged 15 to 24 and 21.9 per cent among those aged 15 to 35. Both figures were considerably higher than the national unemployment average of 12.8 per cent.
The findings indicate that young jobseekers continue to face greater difficulties finding work than the wider labour force.
Beyond unemployment, the report draws attention to young people who are completely disconnected from both the labour market and the education system.
The average rate of young people aged 15 to 35 who were not in employment, education or training, commonly referred to as the NEET rate, stood at 17.9 per cent during the first three quarters of 2025.
In the third quarter alone, close to two million young people fell into this category.
Women accounted for more than 60 per cent of the group, while the NEET rate stood at 20.6 per cent in urban areas and 18.0 per cent in rural communities.
The Central Region recorded an even higher rate of 25.3 per cent.
Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said the figures pointed to the scale of the challenge facing young people, particularly women.
“Close to two million young people are neither working nor in education or training, what we refer to as the NEET group, and more than six in ten of them are young women,” he said.
Employment does not always mean decent work
The GSS report also raises concerns about the quality of jobs available to young people and whether their educational backgrounds adequately prepare them for the roles they occupy.
Although about 65 per cent of employed young people indicated that their skills matched their jobs, only 58 per cent said their level of education was appropriate for the work they performed.
The findings suggest that having a job does not necessarily mean that a young person is fully benefiting from their education or training.
More than 70 per cent of all jobs in Ghana were also classified as informal, raising further questions about employment security, stability and access to workplace protection.
The report therefore highlights the need to look beyond employment numbers when assessing the country’s youth employment situation.
The availability of stable jobs, opportunities to apply acquired skills and access to appropriate training remain important considerations in addressing the problem.
GSS publication to support policy decisions
Ghana in Numbers, 2025 is the Ghana Statistical Service’s new annual flagship publication, bringing together official statistics on the country’s population, economy, society, governance and environment.
It is intended to make national data more accessible and support evidence-based decision-making across different sectors.
Future editions are expected to track indicators including youth unemployment, the NEET rate, informal employment and the relationship between education and job requirements.
The publication and its accompanying data resources are available through the Ghana Statistical Service website, StatsBank and the GSS Stats App.
