Carter Nill

Yesterday, @StatsGhana published its first edition of Ghana in Numbers. It brings together official data on population, health, education, the economy, governance and the environment in one report. The report shows real progress, but also some challenges. A Ghanaian born today can expect to live about 65 years, 25 years more than in 1960. Deaths among children under five fell from 111 per 1,000 births in 2003 to 40 in 2022. The share of people who are multidimensionally poor dropped from 31% in 2022 to 23% in 2025. Health insurance coverage jumped to 66% in 2025 after six flat years. More homes now have electricity (86%) and safe drinking water (92%) than ever before. But the challenges are significant. Food insecurity went up again in 2025, to about 40% of the population, or 13 million people. The unemployment rate rose from 8.4% in 2017 to 12.8% in 2025. It's worse for young people: almost 1 in 3 of those aged 15 to 24 who want a job cannot find one. Agriculture is about 22% of the economy but gets less than 1% of government spending. That matters when 4 in 10 people are struggling to get enough food. The gains are also uneven. More than half the people in North East and Savannah are multidimensionally poor, compared with 9% in Greater Accra. A rural girl is almost twice as likely as an urban girl to become a mother before 20. Some improvements for sure and yet more work to be done!