After the first quarter GDP figures revealed an impressive performance, President John Dramani Mahama has expressed strong optimism about Ghana’s economic outlook for the 2025 fiscal year.
President Mahama is rethinking the economic growth projections his government anticipates for the year.
The first quarter GDP figures show an impressive growth rate of 5.3%, with the critical sector, Agriculture, driving the growth, followed by the Services sector.
Reacting to the data in an interaction with the Ghana National Association of Teachers on Thursday, the President described the results as a “good sign” that the economy is returning to a path of sustainable growth, adding that it fuels expectations for even stronger performance by year-end.
With the impressive Q1 growth, the president is yearning for an above 5% growth by the end of the year. Interestingly, this anticipation is higher than his government’s official projection in the 2025 budget.
The Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, in his presentation to parliament to announced a growth projection of 4% by the end of the year. President Mahama, judging from the first quarter performance, believes the government can surpass its own forecast.
“The first quarter GDP result has come, and it is about 5.4%, which shows that the economy is returning to a path of growth, and it should be a good sign for us. By the end of the year, we yearn for above 5% growth, then it means that the economy has started expanding instead of growing negatively,” the president remarked.
The President is not just anticipating. He pledged to monitor the situation and implement measures that will ensure the growth anticipated in order to create stability and prosperity for all Ghanaians.
He said, “We will continue to pay attention to that in order that we are able to create stability for every sector, and we are able to have more prosperity for our people.”
President Mahama linked the strong Q1 showing to the implementation of prudent fiscal measures, some of which were drawn from the National Economic Dialogue held earlier this year. He emphasized that fiscal discipline remains critical to macroeconomic stability, currency strength, and improved quality of life for citizens.
“In the past, fiscal indiscipline drained our macroeconomy and caused instability, leading to a depreciating cedi and eroding standards of living. Stability and predictability are what investors and businesses need to thrive,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has projected Ghana’s growth at a moderate 3.9% for 2025, which is expected to rise to 4.6% in 2026 and 4.8% in 2027. The IMF, due to climate-related risks, also forecast Ghana’s economy to expand by 4% with a boom of 4.8% in 2026.
