Ghana: Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (national estimate)

Key figures

Since 1988 it is up 5.04 percentage points from 64.2% in 1988. The World Bank has no value for 21 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 25.2 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.83 percentage points in 2000. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Ghana had the 33rd highest value of the 83 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Ghana in the 2025 ranking

• St. Lucia — 30th of 83: 69.98%
• Brazil — 31st of 83: 69.93%
• Japan — 32nd of 83: 69.8%
• Uruguay — 34th of 83: 69.24%
• Russian Federation — 35th of 83: 69.1%
• Panama — 36th of 83: 68.99%

What this measures

Employment to population ratio is the proportion of a country's population that is employed.

Limitations: Data on employment by status are drawn from labor force surveys and household surveys, supplemented by official estimates and censuses for a small group of countries. The labor force survey is the most comprehensive source for internationally comparable employment, but there are still some limitations for comparing data across countries and over time even within a country. Comparability of employment ratios across countries is affected by variations in definitions of employment and population. The biggest difference results from the age range used to define labor force activity. The population base for employment ratios can also vary.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 17 values

Employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (national estimate) in nearby economies

• Angola — 67.49% (2025)
• Botswana — 56.86% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 70.98% (2025)
• Malawi — 48.09% (2024)
• Mali — 78.27% (2024)
• Mauritius — 65.29% (2024)
• Namibia — 34.34% (2023)
• Rwanda — 76.15% (2025)
• Senegal

More social protection & labor data for Ghana

• Net migration — -17,079 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 21,050 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 16,030 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 28.78% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 33.06% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (modeled ILO estimate) — 30.93% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate) — 57.37% (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) (modeled ILO estimate)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Ghana's employment to population ratio, 15+, male (%) (national estimate)?

69.24% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1988?

It is up 5.04 percentage points from 64.2% in 1988. The highest value was 86.7% in 1999 and the lowest 60.95% in 2021.

How does Ghana rank?

33rd highest of 83 economies with data for 2025.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.EMP.TOTL.SP.MA.NE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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