A maiden survey by policy think tank the Africa Policy Lens (APL), unveiled in Accra on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, has found that despite measurable macroeconomic progress, most Ghanaian households continue to experience economic hardship driven by high costs of living and stagnant incomes.
The Ghana Wellbeing Tracker, which the APL launched alongside its Governance Trust Barometer, placed Ghana’s overall economic wellbeing at a Ghana Wellbeing Index (GWI) score of 58.5 out of 100, characterising the economy as stable but structurally fragile.
The most alarming finding is concentrated in the Cost-of-Living Pressure Index, which recorded the lowest score of all measured dimensions at 44.7, placing it firmly within what the APL classifies as the high pressure category. Despite inflation slowing in recent months, the report draws a sharp distinction between falling inflation rates and the absolute price levels that citizens face daily. Prices for essential goods and services remain elevated, and household purchasing power has not recovered.
The findings expose a deepening gap between what headline economic indicators suggest and what ordinary Ghanaians experience on the ground. The Employment and Income Security Index scored 59.3, signalling moderate labour market activity, but the APL cautioned that this number masks widespread income volatility, high informality, and limited job security. The Household Income Momentum Index, at 52.9, points to broadly stagnant incomes, with many households still recording net income declines even as a segment reports modest gains.
Central to the report’s analysis is the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which scored 56.9 on the SME and Local Business Conditions Index. The APL described the business environment as operational but underperforming. SMEs, which serve as the backbone of employment and household income in Ghana, continue to face high input costs, weak consumer demand, and limited access to affordable credit. The report argues that this underperformance directly transmits to household income stagnation and weakens the broader economic recovery.
“Notwithstanding this positive macroeconomic trajectory, the findings reveal a persistent disconnect between aggregate economic stabilisation and lived economic experiences,” the APL report stated.
The one area of relative strength was household financial resilience, where the Financial Stress and Resilience Index recorded a notably higher score of 78.9. The APL interpreted this as evidence that despite current hardships, citizens retain forward-looking optimism that could anchor recovery if supported by targeted policy action.
On governance, the APL’s Governance Trust Barometer surveyed 3,698 respondents across all 16 regions in April 2026 and found that while Ghana’s democratic foundations remain intact, institutional trust is fragile. The Government Communication Index scored 44.2, reflecting citizen dissatisfaction with the transparency and responsiveness of official communication. The report also found that only 41.5 percent of citizens feel safe from political intimidation, a figure the APL described as particularly concerning during periods of political transition.
The APL announced the Ghana Wellbeing Tracker will operate as a quarterly citizen-centred evaluation of economic conditions, offering a regular measure of how households navigate everyday economic realities.
