The World Bank has flagged effective natural resource management as a critical driver of Ghana’s economic growth and infrastructure development, emphasizing that without strategic reforms, the country risks prolonged stagnation and fiscal fragility.
In its 2025 Policy Notes on Ghana, titled Transforming Ghana in a Generation, the Bank outlines deep structural challenges affecting the economy. Income per capita has stagnated at roughly US$2,200, job creation remains limited, and informal employment dominates the labor market.
The report also highlights regional inequalities, declining human capital in education and health, governance weaknesses, and overreliance on natural resource extraction as barriers to productivity and sustainable growth.
The Bank warns that infrastructure deficits, including transport, digital networks, water, sanitation, and urban services, are further constraining economic potential, while environmental degradation from artisanal mining and insufficient disaster preparedness poses risks to communities and businesses alike.
To tackle these challenges, the World Bank identifies five strategic focus areas under the natural resources and infrastructure pillar:
- Environmental Protection Enforcement – Ensuring artisanal mining and marine/blue economy activities do not harm ecosystems.
- Disaster Risk Financing and Social Protection – Strengthening systems to respond quickly to natural disasters and economic shocks.
- Agricultural Productivity – Boosting output with climate-smart tools, sustainable practices, quality inputs, and modern infrastructure.
- Agribusiness and Value-Chain Development – Adding value to agricultural products and creating growth opportunities through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
- Sustainable, Resilient Infrastructure – Expanding and modernizing transport, digital networks, water, sanitation, and urban infrastructure, leveraging PPPs for long-term sustainability.
According to the Bank, reforms in these areas could broaden the production base, enhance resilience, create jobs, and accelerate growth. Its modeling suggests that with ambitious reforms, Ghana could achieve sustained annual growth of about 6.5%, potentially tripling per capita income by 2050.
The World Bank’s assessment underscores the urgency for Ghana to modernize its economy, improve productivity, and close critical infrastructure gaps, particularly ahead of upcoming elections and policy decisions that could shape the country’s development trajectory over the next decade.
