Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu
The nation’s economic activity expanded by 3.8 percent in October 2025, according to the latest Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG) released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
Presenting the provisional figures yesterday, Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, explained that the MIEG is a volume-based index designed to track changes in economic activity on a monthly basis, providing an early signal of how the economy is performing ahead of the release of quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures.
The MIEG index for October 2025 stood at 112.7, up from 108.6 recorded in October 2024, translating into a year-on-year growth rate of 3.8 percent. Month-on-month growth was not reported because the index is not seasonally adjusted.
A breakdown of the data shows that growth was driven largely by the services sector, which expanded by 5.5 percent over the period and emerged as the main contributor to overall economic performance. The sector accounted for 2.8 percentage points of the total 3.8 per cent growth recorded in October.
Industry also recorded positive growth, expanding by 3.0 percent and contributing 1.1 percentage points to overall economic activity. Agriculture posted a more modest growth of 0.9 percent, contributing 0.05 percentage points to the total expansion.
According to the Government Statistician, the growth in agriculture was largely driven by improved performance in fishing activities during the period under review.
In the industry sector, the expansion was attributed mainly to increased activity in the manufacturing sub-sector.
The services sector, which led overall growth, benefited primarily from strong performance in Information and Communication as well as Trade-related activities, reflecting sustained demand and improved activity levels in these areas of the economy.
Dr. Iddrisu noted that the MIEG covers all economic activities captured under the quarterly GDP framework, and added that it is compiled using monthly volume indicators and administrative records, which are deflated using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) to remove the effects of inflation.
He explained that the indicators used in the MIEG are, as much as possible, the same as those employed in compiling quarterly GDP figures.
This alignment, he said, ensures consistency between the two datasets and allows the MIEG to serve as a reliable early indicator of economic trends.
“The MIEG allows users not only to see the overall direction of economic activity ahead of the quarterly GDP release, but also to understand how much each major sector contributes to total growth,” Dr. Iddrisu said.
He cautioned, however, that the October 2025 MIEG figures are provisional and subject to revision as more comprehensive and updated data become available. The indicator is currently classified as an experimental statistic and remains open to revision for up to two years, in line with the revision policy applied to quarterly and annual national accounts.
Revisions, he explained, typically arise from the incorporation of additional data that were not available at the time of the initial release, as well as the reconciliation of monthly indicators with quarterly and annual national accounts, which are based on a broader data set.
Dr. Iddrisu also pointed out that the MIEG is currently a non-seasonally adjusted series, meaning only year-on-year changes are calculated.
As the time series expands to at least four years, the Ghana Statistical Service plans to introduce seasonally adjusted data to allow for month-on-month growth analysis, he added.
By Ernest Kofi Adu