The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said Wednesday that the country’s economy grew by 6.4 percent year over year in the first three months (Q1) of 2026, up from a revised 6.2 percent in the same period last year.
Addressing a press briefing in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, government statistician Alhassan Iddrisu said information and communication; mining and quarrying; trade, repair of vehicles, household goods, crops, transport and storage; and manufacturing were the main drivers of growth in gross domestic product (GDP) during the quarter under review.
“The GDP growth recorded in the first quarter is clear evidence of an economy that continues to expand while maintaining greater price stability,” Iddrisu said.
According to him, the services sector, with a share of 45.7 percent of GDP, recorded the highest real GDP growth of 7.1 percent, year-on-year, making the largest contribution of 51.6 percent to overall real GDP growth.
Industry, which accounts for 32.9 percent of overall GDP, grew by 6.9 percent, contributing a total of 21.6 percent to overall growth in Q1. Meanwhile, agriculture, which represents 21.4 percent of the economy, grew by 4.0 percent and contributed 22.4 percent to overall real GDP growth during the first quarter, added the official.
Moreover, non-oil GDP growth (excluding oil production from the economy) stood at 6.3 percent, compared to a non-oil growth rate of 8.0 percent in the same quarter of 2025.
On the reverse, Iddrisu noted that accommodation and food service activities; fishing, health and social work; water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities; and real estate were the main sub-sectors that contracted in Q1 2026.
Ghana concluded its three-year reform program backed by a loan of 3.0 billion U.S. dollars from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month. Subsequently, the West African cocoa, gold, and crude oil exporting nation announced a new three-year non-financing policy coordination instrument program with the IMF.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana, after the last sitting of its Monetary Policy Committee, assessed the risks in the outlook to growth and inflation as broadly balanced and decided to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate at 14.0 percent,” the governor announced.