By Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, May 18, GNA – The latest district-level multidimensional poverty rankings have revealed that the North East Region continues to host the most deprived districts in Ghana.
Data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) on Monday showed that the six districts with the highest multidimensional poverty incidence in 2025 are all located in the North East Region, underscoring persistent regional disparities in development outcomes.
The report, which covers the period 2021 to 2025, provided for the first time comparable multidimensional poverty estimates for all 261 districts, offered a more detailed understanding of how deprivation varies across the country.
According to the findings, Yunyoo Nasuan District recorded the highest poverty incidence in 2025 at 51.6 per cent, while Ayawaso North Municipal in the Greater Accra Region recorded the lowest at 5.5 per cent, highlighting a wide gap between the most and least deprived districts.
The concentration of the poorest districts in one region has raised concerns among policymakers and development stakeholders about the effectiveness of long-standing efforts to address inequality between northern and southern Ghana.
Over the years, successive governments have implemented targeted interventions, including social protection programmes, infrastructure investments, and decentralised development initiatives, aimed at improving living conditions in deprived regions.
However, the data suggests that poverty remains deeply entrenched in parts of the country, particularly in the North East.
Speaking at the launch in Accra, Mr. Thomas Nyarko Ampem, the Deputy Minister of Finance, acknowledged the uneven nature of progress, noting that while many districts had seen improvements, significant disparities persist depending on location.
He emphasised that the findings should guide more precise and equitable allocation of public resources, stating that government must ensure that investments reached districts facing the greatest deprivation.
Similarly, the Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, said the new district-level data marked a shift from broad national averages to more targeted, evidence-based decision-making.
He explained that while national trends showed improvement, poverty remained heavily concentrated in parts of the North East, Northern, Oti, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West regions, reinforcing the need for focused interventions.
The data indicated that although 250 out of the 261 districts recorded reductions in multidimensional poverty between 2021 and 2025, progress was uneven across the country.
Multidimensional poverty measures deprivation across several indicators, including education, health, housing, access to clean water and sanitation, electricity, and employment opportunities, providing a broader assessment of living conditions beyond income levels.
GNA
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong