A report from the Ghana Statistical Service ( GSS) indicates that Ghana's youth population reached about 12 million in 2025, representing roughly one in every three people in the country.

According to the report, this marks the largest number of young people in the country's history.

However, while the number of youth population grows, few job opportunities are available for those who qualify to be employed in the labour market, with unemployment among young people remaining significantly higher than the national average.

Figures from the GSS show that unemployment among people aged 15 to 35 averaged 21.9% during the first three quarters of 2025, compared with the national rate of 12.8%.

The situation was worse among those aged 15 to 24, where the average unemployment rate stood at 32.4% over the same period.

The figures were contained in the GSS's Ghana in Numbers, 2025, an annual publication that brings together official data on the country's population, economy, society, governance and environment.

The report also highlights the number of young people who are neither working nor in school or receiving any form of training, a group commonly referred to as NEET.

On average, 17.9% of people aged 15 to 35 fell into this category during the first three quarters of 2025.

In the third quarter alone, nearly two million young people were neither employed nor enrolled in education or training, with women accounting for more than 60% of the total.

The rate was higher in urban areas, at 20.6%, compared with 18% in rural communities. The Central Region recorded the highest rate among the areas highlighted in the report, at 25.3%.Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama says the government will commit US$2 billion annually to nine sectors of the economy over the next five years as part of efforts to tackle unemployment and create more jobs.

The proposed investment, which will amount to US$10 billion, will be implemented under the government’s New Economy Policy, expected to be outlined by the Finance Minister during the presentation of the 2027 Budget.

The initiative will focus on productive sectors, including textiles and garments, agriculture and agribusiness, pharmaceuticals and tourism, which the government believes can support industrial growth and create employment opportunities.

President Mahama said the programme would be financed with domestic resources rather than borrowed funds.

“When the Minister presents the 2027 Budget, he is going to announce what we call the New Economy Policy. The policy has selected nine areas, or nine pillars, in which the government is going to invest about US$2 billion every year for five years. That is a total of US$10 billion,” he said.

“As I have said, this is our own money. We are not going to borrow money for the New Economy Policy.”

The President announced the plan during a courtesy call by chiefs from the Western North Region, where he outlined measures to strengthen the economy and expand employment through industrialisation and private-sector development.

He said the economy was recovering from the debt default and economic crisis inherited by his administration when it assumed office on January 7, 2025.

According to him, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had projected Ghana’s economy to grow by 5.7 per cent, exceeding the average forecast of about four per cent for sub-Saharan Africa.