Informal cross-border trade between Ghana and its neighbouring countries reached GH¢31 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, accounting for 6% of the country’s total trade during the period, according to new data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The findings, contained in the GSS’s Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT) Survey for Q1 to Q3 2025, mark the first time the value of Ghana’s largely unrecorded trade with Togo, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire has been comprehensively measured.
The report found that informal trade totalled GH¢31 billion between January and September 2025, representing 6% of Ghana’s overall trade over the period.
According to the GSS, the survey was conducted across 206 active border crossing points in 10 regions, capturing goods that crossed Ghana’s borders outside official customs records.
The exercise involved 676 trained officers who combined direct observation with face-to-face interviews with traders to estimate the scale of the country’s informal trade.
The Statistical Service said the findings provide policymakers with a clearer picture of a sector that has long remained outside official economic data despite supporting livelihoods, supplying markets and facilitating regional trade.
The report also notes that incorporating informal trade into official statistics will improve Ghana’s trade and Balance of Payments data, support food security planning and strengthen the country’s implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The survey is a follow-up to Ghana’s first-ever Informal Cross-Border Trade report, which covered the final quarter of 2024 and was released in October 2025.
