The Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has said that when citizens can see the very same figures their leaders use, trust grows and government can be held to account.
He said openness is the foundation of a confident nation.
Dr Forson said this in his foreword to the Ghana in Numbers 2025 report published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
He said every good decision begins with the truth about where the country stands.
Numbers, he said, provide that truth.
“When we know the facts, we choose better, for our families, for our businesses, and for the whole nation. That is why, as Minister for Finance, I placed Ghana in Numbers at the heart of Government’s plans,” he said.
In the 2026 Budget, he told Parliament that “in 2026, the GSS will unveil a flagship annual publication, Ghana in Numbers, that tells our national story through data.”
He said this report is that publication, and from now on it will be published every year.
“Government stands behind this report for a simple reason. Public money and public power must be matched by public facts. When citizens can see the very same figures their leaders use, trust grows and government can be held to account. Openness is the foundation of a confident nation,” he said.
Dr Forson further explained that Ghana in Numbers is also part of a wider drive to make the country’s statistics stronger and more trustworthy, alongside the rebasing of national income (GDP) and consumer price figures and other improvements to the national statistical system.
Together, he said, these reforms give Ghana a firmer base of evidence on which to build.
“My commitment is plain: the figures in this book will guide the choices we make. Good policy is not built on opinion or guesswork.
“It is built on evidence. Here, year after year, that evidence is gathered in one trusted place. This achievement belongs to the Ghana Statistical Service. I thank the Government Statistician, and the management and staff of the Service for the skill and dedication that turned complex data into a book every Ghanaian can read, and I commend the Board for the leadership and guidance behind this flagship work. Ghana is better for their effort,” he said.
He further invited every Ghanaian, from student and teacher to trader and farmer to public officer and citizen, to open the book, read it, and use it.
“Our national story is written in these numbers. Let us read it honestly and together write its next chapter,” he said.
