Ghana's business sector has expanded significantly over the past decade, but employment creation has not kept pace, with only 7.7% of businesses operating formally, Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu has disclosed.
The number of businesses in Ghana reached 2.64 million in 2024. Only 7.7% of these businesses were classified as formal.
Micro enterprises accounted for 9 in 10 businesses, underscoring the dominance of small-scale operations in Ghana's business landscape. Establishments nearly tripled between 2014 and 2024, while the people working in them doubled, Dr Iddrisu said. He noted that the figures show businesses are growing in number faster than employment opportunities.
Ghana's unemployment rate declined from 14.6% in 2023 to 12.8% in 2025, Dr Iddrisu said. More than 70% of jobs remained informal.
The findings highlight the need for measures to support business formalisation and improve the quality and sustainability of employment. Informal cross-border trade worth GHS 38.4 billion was recorded with Togo, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire.
Ghana also recorded a goods trade surplus of GHS 148.3 billion in 2025, with exports exceeding imports. The publication Ghana in Numbers 2025 brings together statistics on population, social development, governance, the environment and the Sustainable Development Goals in a single publication.
Dr Iddrisu said the publication was designed to provide a common evidence base for policymakers, businesses and other stakeholders to guide decision-making.
Dr Iddrisu said the ultimate objective was to ensure that statistics inform decisions and deliver measurable development outcomes. A statistic changes nothing until someone acts on it, he said. The publication is also supported by a web portal that provides district-level data, interactive maps and downloadable statistics.