Ghana's economic growth slowed to 4.7% in April 2026, down from the 7.4% recorded in the same period last year, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has reported.

This was captured from the latest Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) released by the GSS.

According to the report, even though the pace of growth has eased due to slowed activity across key sectors in the country, the economy remains growing.

The report shows that, according to the Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the index rose to 113.3 in April 2026 from 108.2 a year earlier, extending the economy’s upward trajectory over the past three years.

Key drivers of growth

A major driver of the moderate growth has been linked to the services sector, which remains the largest contributor with a 6.0% year-on-year expansion and accounting for 61.7% of overall economic growth during the month. The sector's performance was driven largely by activities in the Information and Communication subsector.

Industry also posted stronger growth, expanding by 4.0% in April 2026 compared with 1.1% in the corresponding period of 2025, marking about 264% growth in April 2026 compared with April 2025. The improvement was attributed mainly to increased mining activity, with the sector contributing 29.9% of the month's overall growth.

Meanwhile, the agriculture sector returned to positive territory after contracting a year earlier. The sector grew by 1.7%, recovering from a 6.9% decline in April 2025, supported primarily by the crops and livestock subsectors. Agriculture accounted for 4.5% of overall economic growth during the month.

According to the Ghana Statistical Service, growth remained broad-based across the economy, with all three major sectors, services, industry and agriculture, recording positive growth in April 2026.

The Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth is a high-frequency index used to provide an early indication of quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) performance by tracking monthly economic activity across agriculture, industry and services.

The GSS noted that the April 2026 estimates are provisional and may be revised as additional data become available.

Meanwhile, in April, GSS reported a 7.5% growth in January, showing continued momentum at the start of the year, although it was reported to be 0.7% slower compared to last year’s growth, which was 8.2% in the same month of 2025.

According to the latest Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) data, the services sector, including finance and banking, education, and healthcare, remained the main driver of growth, expanding by 9.6% and contributing 54.3% to overall economic growth.

The industrial sector, which includes manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying, utilities, comes after the services sector is the industrial sector. It followed with a 7.2% increase, accounting for 29.0%, while agriculture recorded the slowest growth at 4.5%, contributing 14.0%.

The growth rate was announced by Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, who noted that the notable performance in services marks the sector’s significant role in the economy, highlighting Ghana’s gradual shift towards a service-led growth model.

While some sectors are recording significant growth, the GSS report also shows a snail-paced growth rate in the Agriculture sector, which is worrying due to its role in granting employment opportunities to a great number of the public; however, adding that, there is still room to make more products and add more value.

Experts say that to keep the economy growing through 2026, the country needs a clear plan. This plan should focus on improving the industry, making agriculture more productive, and continuing to grow the services sector so the economy becomes stronger and more balanced.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s economic outlook for 2025 was slightly downgraded by the World Bank, with the institution forecasting a 3.9% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, lower than both the government’s projection of 4.4% and the World Bank’s earlier forecast of 4.3%.

The updated projection was contained in the April 2025 edition of the Africa Pulse Report, where the Bretton Woods institution also anticipated modest improvements in the country’s economic performance over the next two years, projecting a growth rate of 4.6% in 2026 and 4.8% in 2027.

According to the World Bank, weather-related uncertainties remained a major concern, especially as they affected key export commodities such as cocoa in both Ghana and neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire. These climate disruptions also caused ripple effects on global cocoa stockpiles and pricing.

The report noted: “On average, the response to extreme weather events such as droughts and floods has diverted up to 9.0% of African governments’ budgets and rendered losses of 2.0% to 5.0% of economic activity.”

Despite the external challenges, Ghana had begun to show signs of economic rebound. The World Bank highlighted renewed optimism among businesses and improvements in sectors like manufacturing and services during the early months of 2025.

“High-frequency indicators point to activity in manufacturing and services improving across countries in the region at the start of 2025. Business sentiment continues to expand in some countries (Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia), while in others it has bounced back from contraction (Ghana and Mozambique) or remains subdued (South Africa and Uganda),” the report noted.