Mid-Year Review: 'About 950,000 Ghanaians moved out of multidimensional poverty in one year'

The Minister for Finance Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has announced that about 950,000 Ghanaians moved out of multidimensional poverty within one year.

According to him, the improvement is as a result of the country's strengthening economic performance.

Presenting the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, the Minister said key socio-economic indicators, including unemployment and multidimensional poverty, had recorded significant improvements over the past year.

He said the gains reflected better living standards, improved employment opportunities and the government's broader economic recovery efforts.

"Multidimensional poverty, which measures deprivation across living conditions, education, health, and employment, declined from 24.9% in Q3 of 2024 to 21.9% in Q3 of 2025. This simply means that about 950,000 Ghanaians moved out of multidimensional poverty in just one year."

Dr Ato Forson further noted that unemployment rate also declined from 13.7 percent during the first three quarters of 2024 to 12.8 percent over the same period in 2025.

He added that inflation had fallen sharply from 23.8 percent in December 2024 to 5.4 percent by the end of 2025 and remained low at 5.3 percent in June 2026.

"Behind these statistics are the hundreds of thousands of families who now enjoy better living conditions and greater hope for the future," the Minister said.

The Finance Minister further stated that the government's fiscal performance had exceeded expectations, recording a primary surplus of 2.5 percent of GDP at the end of 2025 and 0.9 percent of GDP by the end of June 2026.

He said prudent fiscal management had also contributed to a rapid decline in Ghana's public debt.

The Minister stated that the government remains on course to achieve its fiscal targets for the year.