Ghana

GSS Says Almost 2 Million Ghanaian Youth Are Not In Employment, Education, Or Training

Updated Thursday, July 18, 2024 at 7:21 AM by Cornerlis Affre 2 min read

A recent report by the Ghana Statistical Service has showed that almost two million people aged 15 to 35 are idle
According to the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey, this number is not in employment, education, or training
According to financial analyst Godfred Bokpin, the situation is a dire challenge to the Government and he called for urgent reforms

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A new Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) report has showed that almost two million youths are idle.

These young members of the population are not in education, employment, nor training (NEET).

GSS Reveals Almost 2 Million Ghanaian Youth Not In Employment, Education Or Training — A recent GSS report is showing that 1.9 million Ghanaians aged 15 to 35 are sitting idle.
Source: Getty Images

The GSS Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) revealed that in the third quarter of 2023, 1.9 million people aged 15 to 35 were idle.

Females constituted the majority of the population, with 1.2 million people, whereas males comprised 715,691.

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Breakdown of GSS' report on NEET

The Greater Accra Region had the largest population of idle youth, with 565,360 youth not engaged in education, employment, or training at the time of the survey.

The Ashanti Region recorded 352,503 youth NEET, the Central Region recorded 155,171 youth NEET, the Eastern Region recorded 143,601 youth NEET, and the Western Region recorded 137,865 youth NEET.

Also, Greater Accra again topped the list proportionally, with 26.9 per cent of its population aged 15 to 35 classified as NEET.

This was followed by the North East Region, where 19.5 per cent of the youth are NEET.

Bono East Region was the only region with its NEET population percentage in a single figure (8.3%).

Financial analyst Godfred Bokpin reacts

Meanwhile, financial analyst Prof Godfred Bokpin has described the situation as precarious, referencing a Commonwealth study that indicated Ghana’s poverty levels were worsening.

He said that with the country’s population expected to balloon to about 45 million by 2040, the government should implement deliberate policies within the real sectors of the economy to absorb the youth.

He also urged the government to close the widening gap between the rich and poor.

Ghana’s population to hit 50M by 2050

YEN.com.gh also reported that the GSS has projected that Ghana’s population will hit 37.23 million in 2030 and 58.77 million in 2050.This represents a 70.36 per cent increase by the year 2050.

The report Population Projections 2021-2050 was launched in Accra on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. It utilised data from the 2021 population and housing census and historical sources for its projections.