4th Quarter of 2024 recorded slow economic growth — GSS

The country’s economy recorded a slowdown in the fourth quarter of last year, growing at 3.6 per cent year-on-year, compared to the 7.2 per cent expansion in the previous quarter, according to provisional data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). 

The decline was largely driven by contractions in the mining and quarrying sector, which shrank by 8.2 per cent, and the cocoa sector, which declined by 21.4 per cent, marking its sixth consecutive quarterly contraction.

At current prices, the value of the country's economy stood at GH¢331.1 billion and non-oil at GH¢324.3 billion.

The current Annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — All inclusive-non-oil, and non-gold-- also crossed GH¢1 trillion for the first time last year.

The current GDP (oil and gold) was GH¢1.17 trillion; GDP (non-oil) was GH¢1.12 trillion, and GDP (non-gold) was GH¢1.08trillion. 

Industry, agricultural sectors

Speaking at a press briefing in Accra yesterday, the Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, explained that the overall economic slowdown was significantly influenced by the struggles within the industry sector, which posted marginal growth of just 0.2 per cent in the final quarter.

He attributed the weak performance to the sharp contraction in mining and quarrying, which accounted for about 43 per cent of the industry sector's total value.

“Once you are seeing an 8.2 per cent contraction in the mining and quarrying sector, it significantly influences the 0.2 per cent that we saw for the industry sector, and also the 3.6 overall growth rate,” Prof. Annim added.

However, he said the construction sub-sector showed signs of recovery, expanding for the first time in a year.“In contrast to previous years that saw a contraction in all four quarters of 2024, we saw an expansion in the construction sub-sector,” Prof. Annim said.

The agricultural sector grew by 3.1 per cent, but its performance was dragged down by the continued contraction in cocoa, Ghana’s key export commodity. 

The cocoa sector shrank by 21.4 per cent, reflecting ongoing challenges such as unfavourable weather conditions, disease outbreaks, and disruptions in global supply chains.

Services sector

The services sector remained the dominant contributor to GDP, accounting for 49.2 per cent, followed by industry at 31.9 per cent, and agriculture at 19.0 per cent.

Prof. Annim further said that the mining and quarrying sector performed well in the first three quarters of 2024, contributing to industry growth. 

However, the fourth-quarter downturn in mining significantly impacted the economy’s overall trajectory, he said.

“Until the last quarter of 2024, mining and quarrying were doing very well from the perspective of the extractives.

“In the first three quarters, we saw positive influences both from the mining and quarrying and the construction sub-sectors,” Prof. Annim said.