The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed in its 2023 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) that 1.9 million youth, aged 15 to 35, were not engaged in education, employment, or training (NEET) as of the third quarter of 2023. This alarming statistic was highlighted in a press release issued on Monday, July 15, to mark World Youth Skills Day.
The report shows a significant gender disparity, with 1.2 million females and 715,691 males classified as NEET. Geographically, the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest number of NEET youth, with 565,360 individuals. The Ashanti Region followed with 352,503 NEET youth, Central Region had 155,171, Eastern Region reported 143,601, and Western Region had the lowest with 137,865.
The youth NEET rate for females stood at 21%, six percentage points higher than the 15% for males. Greater Accra had the highest NEET rate at 26.9%, while the North East Region followed with 19.5%. All regions reported double-digit NEET rates except for Bono East, which had an 8.3% rate. Urban areas showed a higher NEET rate of 20.6%, compared to 15% in rural areas.
Comparing the same period to 2022, the youth NEET rate decreased by 5.9%, dropping from 24.1% in Q3 2022 to 18.2% in 2023. The total number of NEET youth fell by nearly half a million (462,998) over the year. Notably, Greater Accra was the only region to record an increase in youth NEET, with a marginal rise of 0.5 percentage points. All other regions saw declines, except for Western, which recorded a 5.9 percentage point decrease for males and a 0.3 percentage point increase for females.
The theme for the 2024 World Youth Skills Day, “Youth Skills for Peace and Development,” underscores the importance of targeted interventions to address disparities in education, employment, and training opportunities for young people in Ghana.
Source: sankofaonline.com
