Ghana’s economy grows 6% as ICT and oil drive expansion

Ghana’s economy grew by 6% in the second quarter of 2026, driven largely by a sharp expansion in information and communications technology and increased oil and gas production, according to the Ghana Statistical Service.

The latest figures bring economic growth for the first half of the year to 6.2%, while non-oil GDP expanded by 5.9% over the same period.

However, second-quarter growth was marginally slower than the 6.1% recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.

Non-oil GDP grew by 5.4% in the three months under review, indicating that economic activity outside the petroleum sector remained relatively strong.

ICT emerges as leading growth driver

Services remained the principal driver of the economy, expanding by 8% in the second quarter.

The sector accounted for 57.6% of overall GDP growth, with ICT emerging as its strongest-performing activity.

ICT expanded by 30.9% and contributed 41.5% of total economic growth during the quarter, underlining the increasingly important role of digital and communications services in Ghana’s economy.

The figures indicate that Ghana’s economic expansion remains heavily concentrated in a small number of fast-growing activities rather than being evenly distributed across all sectors.

Oil and gas lift industrial growth

The industrial sector grew by 4.3%, supported partly by a strong rebound in oil and gas production.

Oil and gas activity expanded by 21.4% during the quarter, helping to strengthen the sector’s overall performance.

Growth across the broader industrial sector was, however, more moderate than the expansion recorded in services.

Fishing contracts by nearly 25%

Agriculture grew by 3.9%, making it the slowest-growing of the three broad sectors covered by the data.

Its performance was weakened by a 24.7% contraction in fishing activity.

The decline contrasts sharply with the rapid expansion recorded in ICT and oil and gas, highlighting the uneven nature of Ghana’s second-quarter economic performance.

Investment and domestic demand rise

Investment increased by 53% during the period, while domestic demand grew by 11.2%.

Seasonally adjusted real GDP also rose by 1.4% compared with the first quarter, suggesting that economic activity continued to gain momentum between April and June.

The figures present an economy maintaining relatively strong headline growth, supported by services, digital activities, petroleum production and investment.

But the slower growth in agriculture, alongside the sharp fall in fishing, raises questions about how widely the benefits of the expansion are being felt.

A central policy challenge will be translating the headline economic gains into broader growth across productive sectors, employment opportunities and improved household incomes.