The Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows a broad-based expansion across all three sectors in January 2026, despite an ease on year-on-year basis.
The GSS data shows that all three major sectors of the economy – agriculture, industry, and services recorded ‘positive’ growth in the first month of 2026, pointing to continued broad-based economic momentum.
The economy expanded by 7.5 per cent in January this year compared to the 8.2 per cent recorded same month 2025, as the January 2026 MIEG index stood at 119.2, up from 110.8 recorded the same month last year.
During a virtual presentation of the data, Mr Alhassan Iddrisu, the Government Statistician, explained that the two growth rates (7.5 per cent and 8.2 per cent) showed that while the economy continued to expand, the rate of expansion had eased.
“This means that while the economy continues to grow, the pace has slowed slightly compared to last year. However, strong performance in Services is helping sustain overall expansion,” the Government Statistician said.
The MIEG is a high-frequency economic statistic designed to provide early monthly signals on the direction of Ghana’s economy ahead of the full quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) release.
“Because MIEG is an early indicator, these results suggest that the quarter one of 2026 GDP is likely to record moderate but steady growth, supported mainly by the Services sector,” Dr Iddrisu explained.
In terms of sectoral growth, the Services sector was the standout performer in January 2026, recording a growth rate of 9.6 per cent, followed by Industry, 7.2 per cent, and Agriculture, 4.5 per cent.
He said the strong services performance was driven primarily by education, and information and communication technology (ICT), reflecting continued digital transformation of the Ghanaian economy and growing demand for educational services at the start of the academic cycle.
He attributed the moderation in industry growth to a slowdown in oil and gas activity within the mining and quarrying subsector, compared to the robust performance recorded during the same period last year.
“Since January 2023, when the industry index stood at 96.1, the sector has traced a consistent upward path through 103.0 in January 2024, 112.9 in January 2025, and now 121.0 in January 2026,” he stated.
The 4.5 per cent growth in the agriculture sector, despite being lower than the 9.3 per cent in January 2025, was driven by the crops and livestock subsector, which accounted for the bulk of agricultural output in Ghana.
The Government Statistician explained that across all components, the composition of growth in January this year reflected an economy increasingly driven by its services sector.
“This structural shift – with services now accounting for a dominant share of economic expansion – mirrors broader trends observed across sub-Saharan Africa’s more diversified economies, where digital, financial, and social services are increasingly leading output growth,” he noted.
