An alarming 5.4 million people out of the 12.3 million Ghanaian workforce are tagged as multidimensionally poor. This is according to the Ghana Statistical Service’s 2022 Labour Statistics report.

Multidimensional poverty encompasses the various deprivations experienced by poor people in their daily lives – such as poor health, lack of education, inadequate living standards, disempowerment, poor quality of work, the threat of violence, and living in areas that are environmentally hazardous, among others.

Details of the report indicated that 4.8 million out of the 5.4 million persons are employed, but surprisingly are not able to access good healthcare, education, or may be working under poor conditions.

This could have great repercussions on the productivity of the workforce as well as economic growth.

The majority of the multidimensional pool being employed explains that most of the employed people are receiving very low incomes and hence cannot afford the basic necessities of life.

Some are also being paid in kind, hence becoming monetarily poor, unable to afford proper healthcare, good education, and improved standards of living. 2.8 million people were also considered food insecure and among the multidimensional poverty pool.

National Scale

The Quarterly multidimensional poverty report 2022 by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) gives insights into the national multidimensional poverty state.

According to the report, as of the 2nd quarter, 46% representing 14.1 million of the entire Ghanaian population were multidimensionally poor.