Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, during a press briefing, explained that the GDP deflator, which was a measure of inflation for everything the economy produced, declined from 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 to 4.1 per cent in 2026, signalling that growth was increasingly real rather than inflation-driven. Overall, nominal GDP reached GHS420.4 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up from GHS378.0 billion in the same period of 2025, while real GDP stood at GHS57.4 billion compared with GHS53.9 billion a year earlier.

The country’s non-oil real GDP grew at 6.3 per cent, reflecting broad-based expansion beyond the petroleum sector, the Government Statistician noted. “On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, real GDP rose 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, up from 1.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, confirming that the economy’s growth momentum is sustained and not merely a base effect,” he said. 

The services sector remained the largest contributor to the economy, accounting for 45.7 per cent of GDP at basic prices and recording growth of 7.1 per cent, accounting for 48.3 per cent of total year-on-year GDP growth. 

Information and Communication Technology was the single most significant sub-sector, surging 25.2 per cent year-on-year, its highest reading in several quarters, and contributing 26.9 per cent to overall GDP growth. Transport and Storage also delivered a strong performance, expanding 13 per cent and contributing 12.1 per cent to GDP growth, while Trade and Repair of Vehicles grew 9.0 per cent, contributing 14.8 per cent to overall growth. 

“Together, these three sub-sectors demonstrated that Ghana’s services economy is growing broadly across multiple fronts,” Dr Iddrisu said, adding that the drag within services came from Accommodation and Food Service Activities, which contracted by 13.6 per cent year-on-year. The industry sector increased to 6.9 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2026, up from just 4.1 per cent in the same quarter of 2025, powered by a sharp rebound in mining and quarrying, which grew 10.7 per cent after three consecutive quarters of negative growth. 

Gold maintained strong double-digit year-on-year growth of 15.7 per cent, continuing its role as the backbone of Ghana’s industrial output, while Oil and Gas returned to positive territory, recording growth of 7.0 per cent after contracting by 29 per cent in the second quarter of 2025. Manufacturing grew 6.2 per cent, while Electricity also expanded 6.2 per cent with Water and Sewerage sub-sector declining by 3.7 per cent for the second consecutive quarter, pointing to persistent structural challenges in that utility segment.

Agriculture grew 4.0 per cent, a moderation from 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, accounting for 13.5 per cent of overall GDP growth, marked by a rebound in Forestry and Logging, surging 9.0 per cent after contracting 2.5 per cent in the previous first quarter. The Crops sub-sector grew 4.7 per cent and Cocoa expanded 3.8 per cent, continuing its recovery from the severe contractions of 2023 and 2024, while Fishing, contracted by 18.5 per cent year-on-year, its sharpest decline in the data series. “The contraction raises urgent concerns about the state of Ghana’s fishing industry and warrants targeted policy intervention,” the Government Statistician noted, calling for attention in the sector.

From the expenditure side, he explained that growth was dominated by a 36.1 per cent surge in investment, up from 6.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, indicating a pickup in capital spending and business confidence. While household consumption grew by a 7.5 per cent, government consumption expanded 7.9 per cent. Monthly economic data from the Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth reinforced the quarterly picture, with the MIEG recording growth of 6.1 per cent in January 2026, accelerating to 7.7 per cent in February before moderating to 5.4 per cent in March, producing an overall March MIEG index reading of 121.6, up from 115.4 in March 2025. 

Dr Iddrisu recommended that Government sustained macroeconomic stability policies and private-sector growth measures while urgently addressing weaknesses in fishing, accommodation and food services, and water supply. He also called for increased investment in infrastructure and digital transformation, noting that ICT’s sustained double-digit expansion pointed to the digital economy as a powerful long-term engine for Ghana’s growth.