Over a Quarter of Ghanaians Still Live in Poverty, Urgent Reforms Needed – World Bank

More than a quarter of Ghanaians remain in poverty despite a decade of economic growth, as stagnant incomes and deepening inequality weigh on the country’s development prospects, the World Bank said.

In a report released by the Bretton Woods Institution in Accra yesterday titled “Transforming Ghana in a Generation”, the Bank said per capita income had hovered at about $2,200 over the past 10 years, showing how growth had failed to translate into broad-based gains. It attributed the trend to limited structural transformation, overreliance on natural resources such as cocoa, gold and oil, and weak job creation.

The findings echo earlier World Bank research that the COVID-19 pandemic pushed nearly 30 million more people worldwide below the $3-per-day poverty line in 2020, wiping out years of progress. 

For many, economic recovery headlines have yet to translate into enough food, clean water, or education for their families. In Ghana, where incomes have flatlined, the risk is that GDP growth continues to bypass millions of households.

The Bank added that macroeconomic imbalances culminating in a severe crisis in 2022 worsened the problem, undermining job growth and slowing poverty reduction. “Ghana has a unique opportunity to restore fiscal discipline, improve governance, and leverage natural and human capital resources for broad-based and inclusive development to transform the country within a generation,” said Robert Taliercio, World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

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The report urged the government to restore fiscal credibility through consolidation and transparency, while putting public debt on a sustainable path. It also called for reforms to improve revenue collection, control expenditure and strengthen key sectors such as energy and cocoa to reduce fiscal risks.

“The choices Ghana makes now can unlock a generation of inclusive, resilient growth, and deliver on the promise of sufficient quality jobs for its citizens,” said Stefano Curto, the Bank’s lead economist for Ghana and lead author of the report.