Govt urged to invest in youth to unlock demographic dividend

The government has been urged to make sustained investments in the health, education and skills development of young people to enable Ghana harness its demographic dividend and accelerate inclusive economic growth.

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) said with more than one-third of the country’s population comprising young people, strategic investments were needed to bridge the gap between education and employment while creating opportunities for decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

The call was made in a statement issued by the GSS to commemorate this year’s World Population Day, observed globally under the theme: ‘Investing in Ghana’s Future through Healthy, Skilled and Empowered Young People.’

According to the service, Ghana’s population has grown steadily from 18.9 million in 2000 to 30.8 million, as recorded in the 2021 Population and Housing Census, with the figure projected to reach 33.7 million in 2025.

It stated that young people between the ages of 15 and 35 now constitute 36.9 per cent of the country’s projected population, up from 34.6 per cent in 2000, indicating that more than one in every three Ghanaians falls within the youth category.

The GSS noted that the country’s youthful population presented a unique opportunity to drive economic transformation through investments in education, healthcare, technical training and productive employment.

However, it cautioned that labour market outcomes remained a major challenge for many young people.

Data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first three quarters of 2025 showed that the national unemployment rate averaged 12.8 per cent, while unemployment among young people aged between 15 and 35 stood at 21.9 per cent, almost twice the national average.

The report also highlighted significant regional disparities, with Greater Accra recording the highest youth unemployment rate at 31.9 per cent, followed by the Central Region at 27.4 per cent and the Ashanti Region at 27.2 per cent.

Beyond unemployment, the GSS disclosed that nearly two million young people, representing about 19.5 per cent of the youth population by the third quarter of 2025, were classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).

It explained that the category reflected young people who were neither acquiring employable skills through education nor engaged in productive economic activities.

The service further expressed concern over teenage pregnancy, citing findings from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, which showed that 15 per cent of girls aged between 15 and 19 had ever been pregnant, while 11 per cent had already given birth.

According to the GSS, early pregnancy often interrupts education, limits opportunities for skills acquisition and reduces long-term participation in the labour market, particularly among young women.

Moreover, the statement stressed that addressing these challenges would require sustained investment in technical and vocational education, stronger school-to-work transition programmes, entrepreneurship development and the expansion of productive sectors capable of generating decent employment.

It said when young people were equipped with relevant skills and provided opportunities to apply them, they became active contributors to national development rather than passive beneficiaries.

Follow our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q