More than one in every three people in Ghana is now a young person, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), which says the country’s growing youth population presents both an opportunity and a challenge for national development.
The GSS, in a statement to mark World Population Day, said young people aged between 15 and 35 years currently account for 36.9 percent of Ghana’s projected population, up from 34.6 percent in 2000.
Ghana’s population has increased from 18.9 million in 2000 to 30.8 million recorded in the 2021 Population and Housing Census, with the country’s population estimated at 33.7 million in 2025.
The Service said the youthful nature of Ghana’s population provides an opportunity for the country to benefit from a demographic dividend if investments are made in education, skills development and healthcare.
“This age structure presents Ghana with an opportunity to realise the demographic dividend through investments in education, skills development and health,” the statement noted.
However, the GSS cautioned that rising youth unemployment threatens the ability of young people to contribute fully to economic growth.
Data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first three quarters of 2025 showed that while national unemployment averaged 12.8 percent, unemployment among young people aged 15 to 35 averaged 21.9 percent.
The Greater Accra, Central and Ashanti regions recorded the highest youth unemployment rates, averaging 31.9 percent, 27.4 percent and 27.2 percent respectively during the period.
The Service further disclosed that nearly two million young people, representing 19.5 percent of the youth population as of the third quarter of 2025, were classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).
According to the GSS, this means a significant number of young people are neither gaining skills through education nor participating in productive employment.
The statement also highlighted concerns around teenage pregnancy, citing findings from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey which showed that 15 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 had ever been pregnant, with 11 percent having given birth.
It explained that early pregnancy can disrupt education, limit skills development opportunities and affect long-term economic participation, particularly among young women.
The GSS stressed the need for stronger investment in technical education, entrepreneurship development and productive sectors capable of creating decent jobs for Ghana’s expanding youth population.
“Closing the gap between Ghana’s youthful population and labour market outcomes will require sustained investment in technical education and training, stronger school-to-work transition pathways, entrepreneurship development, and the expansion of productive sectors capable of creating decent jobs,” it stated.
The Service added that young people must be equipped with relevant skills and given opportunities to apply them to become active contributors to national development.
“As Ghana joins the global community in commemorating World Population Day, the evidence is clear: whether today’s young people become the country’s greatest economic asset or its most pressing development challenge will depend on the investments made today to keep them healthy, equip them with relevant skills, and empower them to contribute meaningfully to national development,” the statement said.
