Ghana’s heavy economic dependence on Accra is creating systemic risks that could undermine long-term growth unless policymakers develop stronger secondary cities and regional infrastructure, according to a new report by consulting and investment advisory firm C-NERGY.
The report, titled “The Primate City Problem: How Accra’s Dominance is Shaping Ghana’s Economic Future”, argues that the Greater Accra Region has evolved into the country’s dominant political, financial and logistical center, concentrating a disproportionate share of economic activity in a flood-prone coastal area.
“Excessive urban primacy carries long-term costs,” the report said. “Infrastructure stress, regional inequality, housing pressures, congestion and climate vulnerability increasingly suggest that Ghana’s development model may be becoming overly concentrated in one metropolitan region.”
The Greater Accra Region occupies about 1.4% of Ghana’s landmass but accounts for roughly 18% of the population and more than one-third of national economic output, according to the report. A study supported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimated that Accra generated between 34% and 39% of Ghana’s gross domestic product from 2015 to 2020.
C-NERGY compared Accra’s growing dominance to Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, which produces about half of Thailand’s GDP despite housing a quarter of the population. Economists describe such concentration as the “primate city” phenomenon, where one metropolitan area significantly outpaces all others economically and institutionally.
The report said Accra’s rise was driven by decades of investment concentration, labor migration and business clustering, creating strong “agglomeration economies” that improved productivity and attracted capital. However, it warned that the benefits of concentration are increasingly being outweighed by rising costs.
Traffic congestion, housing shortages, overstretched infrastructure and environmental risks such as flooding are becoming more severe as economic activity remains centered in the capital, according to the report.
“The greatest long-term risk associated with excessive urban primacy is not simply congestion or overcrowding,” C-NERGY said. “It is a systemic concentration risk.”
The report warned that disruptions in Accra, including flooding, transport failures or power outages, could have nationwide consequences because key institutions and infrastructure are concentrated in the capital region. Accra hosts the seat of government, the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Stock Exchange, Kotoka International Airport, Tema Port and the headquarters of many major corporations and financial institutions.
Regional disparities are also widening, according to the report. While Ghana’s national multidimensional poverty rate declined to 21.9% in 2025 from 24.9% a year earlier, poverty rates in the Northeast and Savannah regions remain above 50%, more than double the national average.
C-NERGY called for a long-term strategy to rebalance economic growth by developing regional economic corridors, expanding industrial parks outside Accra, decentralizing selected public institutions and strengthening nationwide digital infrastructure.
The report identified Kumasi as a potential manufacturing and commercial hub, Takoradi for energy and logistics, Tamale for agribusiness and trade, and Cape Coast for tourism and education.
It also urged the government to expand public-private partnerships to finance transportation, housing, sanitation and industrial infrastructure in emerging regional growth centers.
Drawing lessons from Indonesia, the report cited Jakarta’s mounting congestion and flooding costs, which contributed to the government’s decision to develop a new capital city, Nusantara, at an estimated cost of $35 billion.
“The broader lesson is clear,” the report said. “It is significantly easier to manage urban concentration early than to reverse it later.”
