56.4% of Ghanaians remain in poverty despite economic recovery – World Bank

Despite Ghana’s recent economic recovery, *56.4% of Ghanaians remain in poverty*, with widening disparities across different parts of the country, the World Bank has said. The World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Robert R. Taliercio, said the strong headline economic growth recorded in recent years was yet to translate into improved living conditions for a significant proportion of the population.

Speaking at the launch of the World Bank’s *Tenth Ghana Economic Update* in Accra, Mr Taliercio said the situation highlighted the need for more inclusive growth that creates opportunities and jobs for the wider population. “56.4% of Ghanaians remain in poverty, and spatial disparities are widening,” he said. According to him, there is a disconnect between Ghana’s headline economic growth and the realities faced by many households across the country.

“There is a disconnect between the headline growth that is yet to reach most of the population,” Mr Taliercio said. He said the challenge was particularly concerning given Ghana’s growing young population and the need to create sufficient employment opportunities for people entering the labour market. Mr Taliercio noted that Ghana’s economy grew by *6% in 2025* and accelerated to *6.4% in the first quarter of 2026*, indicating a strong recovery in economic activity.

However, he cautioned that growth alone would not be enough to address the country’s development challenges if it was concentrated in sectors with limited capacity to create jobs. “Growth is led by sectors with *limited employment absorption relative to its growing young population entering the labour market in the next decade*,” he said. He described this as a structural imbalance requiring urgent attention if Ghana is to make its economic recovery more inclusive.

Mr Taliercio said the country must therefore focus on policies that promote job creation, improve productivity and ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach more households and regions. He stressed that making Ghana’s recovery *inclusive, job-intensive and resilient* would be critical to sustaining the progress made in restoring macroeconomic stability. Ghana’s economic recovery has been strong but remains structurally incomplete, with persistent poverty, weak job creation and infrastructure gaps threatening the sustainability of recent gains, the World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Robert R.

According to him, the country had also made significant progress in macroeconomic stability, with headline inflation falling from 23.2% in February 2025 to 3.2% in March 2026, although it had since increased to 4.6%*. He stated that Ghana’s successful completion of its International Monetary Fund Extended Credit Facility programme was a major milestone that demonstrated restored economic credibility. He added that the country recorded a primary fiscal surplus of 2.5% of GDP in 2025, exceeding the 1.5% target, while public debt declined from 70.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024 to 49% at the end of 2025.