Employment by status in Ghana
Ghana: Employment by status was 32.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Employment by status in Ghana, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 32.1% for employment by status in 2024. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 38.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Ghana peaked at 32.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 11.9%, in 1991.
That places Ghana 151st out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.0% | 11.9% | 16.4% | 9 |
| 2000s | 18.9% | 17.2% | 20.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.4% | 21.1% | 29.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.3% | 29.8% | 32.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More work & labour data for Ghana
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 58.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 61.8% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 89.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 55.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 60.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 63.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 57.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in Ghana?
- Employment by status in Ghana was 32.1% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employment by status recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 32.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.9% in 1991.
- How does Ghana rank for employment by status?
- Ghana ranks 151st out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 38.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.