The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has released the 2023 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) report, which reveals that over 2 million young people in Ghana, aged 15-35, are not in education, employment, or training (NEET).

The survey shows that females account for the majority, with 1.2 million, compared to 715,691 males.

The Greater Accra Region has the highest number of NEET youth, with 565,360, followed by the Northeast Region. The youth NEET rate is higher in urban areas (20.6%) than in rural areas (15.0%).

However, there has been a significant decline in the NEET rate, from 24.1% in Q3 2022 to 18.2% in Q3 2023, representing a 5.9 percentage point decrease.

While the NEET rate decreased in all regions except Greater Accra, the total number of youth NEET decreased by almost half a million (462,998) between Q3 2022 and Q3 2023.

The 2024 World Youth Skills Day, with the theme, “Youth Skills for Peace and Development” highlighted the need for targeted interventions to address the disparities in education, employment, and training opportunities for young people in Ghana.