Digital economy powers Ghana's GDP growth to 6% in Q2 2026

Ghana’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by six per cent in the second quarter of 2026, with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sub-sector leading the expansion.

The six per cent second-quarter GDP growth in 2026, compared to the 6.6 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025, represented a 0.6 percentage-point slowdown in economic growth, driven largely by slower growth in agriculture.

Growth in agriculture slowed to 3.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, compared to 7.1 per cent in 2025, while industry also recorded slower growth, declining from 9.5 per cent to eight per cent.

“In real terms, we produced GH¢51.3 billion worth of goods and services, up from GH¢48.4 billion a year earlier, which is 2025 quarter two,” said Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, Government Statistician.

“Despite maintaining robust growth momentum, Ghana’s economy did experience a measurable slowdown compared to the previous year, with the six per cent Q2 2026 growth representing a decline of 0.6 percentage points from the 6.6 per cent recorded in Q2 2025,” he added.

Dr Iddrisu said this during a press briefing on Ghana’s second-quarter 2026 GDP estimates and the June 2026 Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) in Accra on Wednesday.

The sectoral breakdown revealed the dominance of the Services sector, which contributed 57.6 per cent of total Q2 2026 growth, despite slowing slightly from 9.5 per cent the previous year to eight per cent in 2026.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) emerged as Ghana’s single largest growth driver, leading the Services sector with a 30.9 per cent year-on-year growth, compared to 21.3 per cent a year earlier.

Dr Iddrisu noted that ICT’s dominance reflected not a temporary increase but sustained expansion, with the sector recording double-digit growth in every quarter for the past three years.

“This performance establishes Ghana’s growth story as substantially digital, with technology sector expansion driving nearly half of all economic expansion in the second quarter,” he emphasised.

Industry, which contributed 23.5 per cent of total growth, saw its growth increase from 2.4 per cent in Q2 2025 to 4.3 per cent in Q2 2026, marking a significant transformation in oil and gas dynamics.

“This is a swing from a 29 per cent contraction a year ago to remarkable 22.4 per cent growth in Q2 2026, a 51 percentage-point directional shift that contributed 12.8 per cent of total GDP growth independently,” the Government Statistician noted.

The manufacturing sub-sector expanded by 6.6 per cent, compared to 5.4 per cent in the same period a year earlier. Construction grew by 4.4 per cent, representing a slowdown from the 6.5 per cent recorded in Q2 2025, while water and sewage constituted industry’s sole weak spot, contracting by 0.6 per cent.

In the Agriculture sector, growth moderated to 3.9 per cent in Q2 2026 from 7.1 per cent a year earlier, with forestry and logging emerging as the strongest performer, growing by 10.7 per cent compared to 2.7 per cent in 2025.

The crops sub-sector expanded by 5.2 per cent, down from eight per cent, while still contributing 13.8 per cent of total growth as agriculture’s single largest sub-sector. Livestock growth held steady at 5.9 per cent.

On the other hand, the fishing sub-sector experienced a contraction of 24.7 per cent, representing a 25.6 percentage-point change from the previous year and cutting 4.6 per cent from overall economic growth.

“This fishing sector collapse reflects broad-based agricultural growth undermined by one significant contraction that coastal and fishing communities will experience directly through reduced livelihoods and economic opportunities,” Dr Iddrisu said.

Dr Iddrisu explained that an examination of the first-half 2026 performance, combining Q1 and Q2 data, disclosed a softer overall dynamic while confirming inflation moderation as the defining economic achievement.

“Overall GDP grew 6.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, only marginally below the 6.4 per cent recorded in the first half of 2025, while non-oil GDP decelerated to 5.9 from 8.2 per cent,” he stated.

He called for a balance between achievements and challenges, noting that strong digital sector expansion and a recovery in petroleum production drove growth, with critical vulnerabilities in fishing, hospitality and education requiring urgent policy attention.