The Ghana Statistical Service‘s (GSS), report indicate that during the third quarter of 2022, 24.2% of young individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 were not involved in education, employment, or training.
This figure corresponds to approximately 1.5 million people within this age range.
The findings were revealed in a statement released by the GSS as part of the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 Third Quarter Labour Statistics Report.
“More than half of the youth are in Accra (312,394), Ashanti (300,161), Eastern (131,341), and Central (129,182) regions. In 13 out of the 16 regions, more than 20 per cent of young persons, 15 to 24 years were not in education, employment, or training.
Eastern Region (30.0%) has the highest proportion of youth, with a figure about twice that of Bono Region (14.5%) which has the lowest proportion,” the report said.
According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, approximately 11.1% of individuals aged 15 to 24, totaling 1.4 million young people, never attended school.
The percentage of females (12.0%) in this age group who did not attend school slightly exceeded that of males (10.2%).
Specifically, in the Savannah, North East, Northern, Upper West, and Oti regions, the proportions of young people who never attended school were notably higher, at 43.4%, 36.8%, 33.3%, 20.9%, and 20.7% respectively.
These five regions accounted for nearly half (665,508) of the young individuals without formal education.
The census also revealed an unemployment rate of 32.8% among young people aged 15 to 24, with females (36.7%) experiencing a higher rate compared to males (29.3%). Twelve out of the sixteen regions had an unemployment rate exceeding 30%, with the Upper West Region (39%) and Western North Region (38.4%) leading the statistics.
These findings were released in commemoration of World Youth Skills Day, celebrated annually on July 15th to emphasize the importance of equipping young individuals with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. The theme for 2023 is “Skilling teachers, trainers, and youth for a transformative future.”