Ghana’s economic activity expanded by 7.4% year-on-year in July 2026, up sharply from 4.9% in the same period last year, according to the latest Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
The strong performance was driven by robust growth in the services sector and a significant recovery in industry, which together offset a pronounced slowdown in agriculture.
The MIEG index, which uses 2023 as its base year with an index of 100, rose from 113.2 in July 2025 to 121.6 in July 2026, an increase of 8.4 index points. This signals stronger economic momentum, though the sectoral breakdown reveals an economy increasingly reliant on services, with agriculture’s weakening performance highlighting a key area requiring policy attention.
Services Sector: The Engine of Growth
The services sector recorded the strongest growth at 12.2%, up from 6.7% in July 2025 — an increase of 5.5 percentage points. The sector contributed 63.8% to overall growth, cementing its role as the largest driver of economic activity for the month.
The information and communication sub-sector led the expansion, pointing to the growing contribution of digital and communication-related activities to the economy. This continues a trend observed throughout 2026, where the ICT sub-sector has consistently outpaced other segments of the economy. In the second quarter of 2026, information and communication technology expanded by 30.9% year-on-year, up from 21.3% in the same period of 2025, making it the single largest growth driver in the economy.
The services sector index rose from 114.5 in July 2025 to 128.5 in July 2026.
Industry Rebounds on Mining and Quarrying
The industrial sector also recorded a significant recovery, growing by 5.4% compared with just 0.4% in July 2025 — an increase of 5.0 percentage points. The sector contributed 20.5% to overall growth.
Mining and quarrying provided the main impetus behind the sector’s recovery. This follows a strong first quarter of 2026, when the industry sector grew by 6.9%, powered by a sharp rebound in mining and quarrying, which grew 10.7% after three consecutive quarters of negative growth, alongside a recovery in oil and gas production, which expanded by 7.0%.
The industry index increased from 111.1 in July 2025 to 117.1 in July 2026.
Agriculture Slows Sharply
Agriculture, however, lost significant momentum. The sector expanded by only 3.7%, down from 8.2% in July 2025 — a decline of 4.5 percentage points. The sector contributed 14.1% to overall growth, with crops and livestock leading the modest gains.
The slowdown in agriculture is a concern given the sector’s importance to ordinary Ghanaians. Farming supports rural livelihoods, contributes to food supplies, and provides raw materials for local industries. Slower agricultural growth could constrain the pace at which the sector contributes to the broader recovery, particularly if the trend persists.
The agriculture index moved from 109.6 in July 2025 to 113.7 in July 2026. Net taxes contributed 1.6% to the overall growth rate.
What is the MIEG?
The Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth is an innovative statistic developed by the Ghana Statistical Service to provide up-to-date insights into Ghana’s economic performance on a monthly basis. The methodology is grounded in the System of National Accounts (SNA 2008) and uses 2023 as its base year with an index of 100. The data is provisional and may be revised as more comprehensive data becomes available.
The MIEG complements traditional quarterly GDP releases by offering a more frequent snapshot of economic activity, enabling policymakers to respond to emerging trends in a timelier manner.
Broader Economic Context
The July 2026 figures come amid a year of generally strong economic performance. In the first quarter of 2026, the economy grew by 6.4%, exceeding government expectations, while the second quarter recorded 6.0% growth. The ICT sector emerged as the standout performer in the second quarter, contributing 41.5% of overall growth.
However, the data also highlight Ghana’s increasing reliance on services for economic growth, a trend that could pose risks should momentum in the sector wane. The concentration of growth in one sector leaves the broader expansion exposed if services momentum weakens.
Other economic indicators paint a mixed picture. The number of private-sector contributors to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust increased by 6.1% year-on-year in July 2026, while advertised job vacancies rose by 32.4% — both encouraging signals about employment-related activity and labour demand. Cement sales, however, fell by 10.3% cumulatively during the first seven months of 2026, suggesting that activity in parts of the construction-related market remained subdued.
The cedi traded at GH¢11.55 to one US dollar in July 2026, reflecting a depreciation of 9.5% against the dollar in the interbank market.
Outlook and Policy Implications
The Ghana Statistical Service has emphasised the need for policymakers to sustain services growth while strengthening agriculture and widening the contribution of productive sectors to ensure balanced and resilient economic growth.
For households and businesses, the key question is not simply how fast the economy is growing, but where that growth is occurring and whether it is translating into better livelihoods. Strong services growth can support economic activity, while improving industrial performance can create opportunities for production and investment. Agriculture’s slower expansion, however, underscores the importance of ensuring that farming communities and businesses linked to food production also benefit from the recovery.
The report also identifies external risks, including elevated global crude oil prices and possible supply-chain disruptions, which could affect domestic prices and business costs.
Ghana’s 7.4% growth in July 2026 is an encouraging headline. Beneath it, however, the picture is more complex: services are expanding rapidly, industry is recovering, and agriculture is growing at a considerably slower pace than a year earlier. For policymakers, the challenge is to sustain overall momentum while ensuring that the benefits of growth are broadly shared across all sectors of the economy.
