According to a report by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), 24.2 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 were not engaged in education, employment, or training during the third quarter of 2022. This represents 1.5 million individuals in this age group.
The GSS report highlights that more than half of the youth not in education, employment, or training (NEET) are concentrated in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, and Central regions.
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In 13 out of the 16 regions, over 20 percent of young people were not engaged in productive activities. The Eastern Region has the highest proportion of disengaged youth, with a figure twice that of the Bono Region, which has the lowest proportion.
The 2021 Population and Housing Census also revealed that 11.1 percent of young people aged 15 to 24 never attended school, accounting for 1.4 million individuals. The percentage of females who never attended school was slightly higher than males.
The report further indicates that some regions, such as Savannah, North East, Northern, Upper West, and Oti, have significant proportions of young people who never attended school. These five regions account for almost half of the young individuals who never received formal education.
The unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24 was 32.8 percent during the census, with a higher rate for females compared to males. The unemployment rate exceeded 30 percent in 12 out of the 16 regions, with the Upper West Region having the highest rate followed by Western North.
This report comes as the world celebrates World Youth Skills Day on July 15th, with the theme “Skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future.”
