Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Ghana
Ghana: Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) was 5.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Ghana, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Ghana recorded 5.9% for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in 2025.
That represents a change of up 9.2% on the previous year and down 60.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Ghana peaked at 16.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2013.
That places Ghana 152nd out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Ghana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 5.3% | — |
| 1992 | 5.9% | +10.7% |
| 1993 | 6.9% | +16.8% |
| 1994 | 8.0% | +16.4% |
| 1995 | 9.1% | +13.0% |
| 1996 | 10.1% | +11.8% |
| 1997 | 11.1% | +9.8% |
| 1998 | 12.1% | +9.1% |
| 1999 | 15.1% | +24.5% |
| 2000 | 16.3% | +7.7% |
| 2001 | 15.2% | -6.5% |
| 2002 | 14.1% | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 12.9% | -8.7% |
| 2004 | 11.7% | -9.4% |
| 2005 | 10.5% | -10.2% |
| 2006 | 9.3% | -11.3% |
| 2007 | 9.6% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 9.7% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 10.0% | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 10.1% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 8.0% | -20.3% |
| 2012 | 6.1% | -24.2% |
| 2013 | 4.3% | -28.8% |
| 2014 | 9.3% | +116.1% |
| 2015 | 14.8% | +58.3% |
| 2016 | 11.0% | -25.5% |
| 2017 | 6.6% | -40.3% |
| 2018 | 6.3% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 6.0% | -4.2% |
| 2020 | 6.3% | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 6.0% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 5.5% | -9.6% |
| 2023 | 5.4% | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 5.4% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 5.9% | +9.2% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 5.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 61% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 5.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.0%, 66% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Ghana changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +116.1% | 4.3% | 9.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9.3% | 5.3% | 15.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 11.9% | 9.3% | 16.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.2% | 4.3% | 14.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.8% | 5.4% | 6.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More work & labour data for Ghana
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.1512 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.1464 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.1562 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.2734 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 1.99 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 37,518 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 13,752 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 34,429 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 33,119 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 67,548 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Ghana?
- Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) in Ghana was 5.9% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 16.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2013.
- How does Ghana rank for unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24)?
- Ghana ranks 152nd out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 60.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, youth male (% of male labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment.