Economy Expands by 5.1% in August 2025 on Strong Services Sector Performance – GSS
Ghana’s economy expanded by 5.1% in August 2025, according to provisional figures from the Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). The outturn reflects a slight improvement over the 4.9% growth recorded in the same period last year.
The performance was largely driven by a strong rebound in the Services sector, which grew by 9.5% in August 2025, up from 2.6% in August 2024. Officials attributed the robust expansion to increased activity in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Education sub-sectors. Services accounted for about 80% of the total growth recorded in the month.
The Agricultural sector also posted significant gains, expanding by 7.4% compared to the 2.3% growth registered in August 2024. Agriculture contributed an estimated 27.3% to overall growth for the period.
In contrast, the Industrial sector contracted by 1.8% in August 2025, a sharp reversal from the 9.1% expansion recorded a year earlier. The downturn in industry exerted a drag of 12.2 percentage points on the month’s total economic performance.
The GSS also revised July’s MIEG estimates, trimming headline growth from 4.5% to 3.7% after updated data from mining, manufacturing, trade, and transport.
The revisions underscore both the value and risks inherent in depending on high-frequency indicators. The Government Statistician put it, “Timely data offer clarity, but they also offer uncomfortable truths. Policymakers must read these numbers with discipline, not convenience.”
“We should be guided as to how we interpret this data, because it is based on provisional data,” he cautioned. Dr Iddrisu added that the Service is working toward releasing the third-quarter GDP estimates in December 2025.
The August MIEG signals a recovery that is gathering pace but narrowing in composition. With agriculture and services doing the lifting and industry sliding deeper into contraction, Ghana faces a familiar dilemma: headline growth without structural depth.
