By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The World Bank (WB), has predicted that Ghana’s economy will expand by 4.2% in 2025 and 4.8% in 2026.
This was highlighted in the bank’s January 2025 Global Economic Prospects report.
According to the report, the above predictions remain below the pre-COVID-19 pandemic average of 5%, reflecting persistent economic challenges.
The World Bank has also revised Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection for 2024 downward to 4.0% from its initial 4.8% estimate in the October 2024 Africa Pulse Report, which aligns with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast.
The bank has thus cautioned that risks to Ghana’s economic outlook remain skewed to the downside. Among key concerns are a sharper-than-expected slowdown in China, escalating geopolitical tensions—particularly in the Middle East—and worsening political instability in East Africa and the Sahel.
Additionally, prolonged inflationary pressures could keep global interest rates elevated, further straining highly indebted economies.
It said the frequency of extreme weather events also poses risks, with potential implications for poverty levels across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Meanwhile, economic growth in SSA is estimated to have improved from 2.9% in 2023 to 3.2% in 2024, though this remains 0.3 percentage points below earlier projections due to ongoing conflicts in Sudan and other country-specific challenges that hindered recovery.
