Ghana’s economy grew 5.5 per cent year-on-year in the three months to September (Q3), slower than 7.0 per cent recorded for the same period last year, the Ghana Statistical Service said on Wednesday.

This means the economy produced less goods and services than the same time last year.

Dr Iddrisu Alhassan, the Acting Government Statistician, said agriculture was still growing after recovery in 2025 (Q1).

He said the agriculture sector grew by 8.6 per cent, compared to 2.5 per cent  in the Q3 of 2024. 

“This is good news for farmers and food prices,” he added.

The Government Statistician said fishing grew the largest in agriculture sector, growing by 23.1 per cent compared to a contraction (-6.4 per cent) in Q3 of 2024.

The industry grew by 0.8 per cent in 2025 (Q3), compared to 11.4 per cent in 2024 (Q3).

He said the oil and gas sector declined sharply by 18.2 per cent, dragging the industrial sector down.

“But Manufacturing was strong, growing by 3.9 per cent down from 7.4 per cent in 2024 (Q3), showing increase power production to support growth

Dr Alhassan said Information and Communication, Crops, Trade, Transport and Storage, Manufacturing and Education were the main drivers of GDP growth in Q3 2025, all together contributing about 86% of the 5.5 per cent growth.

He said seasonally adjusted, Ghana’s provisional real GDP increased by 1.3 per cent in Q3 2025 from 1.6 per cent in Q3 2024.

He said the five top expanding sub-sectors were fishing (23.1 per cent), Information &  Communication (17.0 per cent ), Transport and Storage (10.4 per cent), Trade (10.0 per cent), and Crops (8.3 per cent).

Dr Alhassan said five contracting activities were Oil & Gas (-18.2 per cent), Mining & Quarrying, (-2.8 per cent), Health & Social Work (-9.7 per ), Accommodation & Food Service Activities (-7.2 per cent ) and Other Personal Services (-3.5 per cent).

The Government Statistician called on households to invest in skills for high-growth sectors.

He also urged them to focus on acquiring skills in rapidly expanding areas like Fishing, ICT, and Trade to leverage emerging employment opportunities.

“Optimise household budgets amidst disinflation: Capitalise on decelerating inflation, particularly in food prices, to increase real savings and enhance purchasing power,” he added.

For businesses, he asked them to prioritise investment in key growth drivers: direct capital into expanding sectors such as Agriculture (Fishing, Crops) and Services (ICT, Transport & Storage) to maximise returns.

He called on them to innovate and adapt in contracting industries: Develop strategies to improve efficiency and explore new markets within sectors experiencing declines, like Oil & Gas and Accommodation & Food Services.

He urged the government to sustain and amplify support for leading sectors: Implement targeted policies to further boost Agriculture (Fishing, Crops) and Services (ICT, Trade, Transport & Storage) to drive overall economic growth.

He said mitigation measures are declining in industrial sub-sectors and urged them to introduce measures to address the significant contractions in Oil & Gas and Mining & Quarrying to stabilise the industrial base and non-oil GDP.