As Ghana continues to strive to appropriately measure its economic performance, a policy analyst, Alfred Appiah, is calling for a major shift in how Ghana measures the true performance of its economy.
Alfred Appiah is arguing that the long-used “non-oil GDP” metric is now outdated, given the circumstances and new developments of the economy. The analyst pointed to a striking reality that gold has become far more influential in Ghana’s economy than oil.
He explains that in 2025 alone, gold contributed about 10% to total GDP, compared to oil’s modest 2.2%. More importantly, gold has consistently outperformed oil in GDP contribution in nine out of the last ten years.
For Appiah, this trend exposes a growing disconnect in economic reporting. He adds that non-oil GDP was useful because it helped policymakers understand the economy beyond the volatility of crude. However, today, gold, not oil, is the dominant extractive force shaping economic outcomes.”
“Gold in 2025 contributed 10% to Ghana’s total GDP. Oil contributed just 2.2%. In 9 out of the last 10 years, gold has consistently contributed more to GDP than oil,” he stated.
Why the Shift Matters
Non-oil GDP has traditionally been used to strip out oil sector distortions and present a clearer picture of underlying economic activity. However, Appiah believes that logic no longer holds in a gold-driven economy.
He proposes replacing it with “non-gold GDP”. He argues that this metric removes the influence of gold, offering a clearer view of how the rest of the economy is performing.
This, he explains, comes with several practical benefits, such as better policy decisions. By excluding gold, policymakers can more accurately assess the health of sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and services, areas that directly affect jobs and livelihoods.
Moreover, the strong gold exports can mask weaknesses in other parts of the economy. A non-gold measure would expose these gaps more clearly.
The governments can design more targeted interventions when they are not overly influenced by the performance of a single dominant commodity.
“It’s time to start ditching non-oil GDP as a measure of underlying economic performance and switch to non-gold GDP. Gold is now the fourth highest contributor to GDP after crops, wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing,” he advocated.
A Call for Rethinking Economic Measurement
Alfred Appiah’s argument suggests that as Ghana’s economic structure evolves, so too must the tools used to measure it.
By shifting to non-Gold GDP, the analyst believes Ghana can gain a more honest and practical understanding of its economy, one that reflects the realities faced by businesses and households, rather than the fortunes of global commodity markets.
For now, what once made sense for an oil-driven narrative must now give way to a gold-informed reality.
