Ghana has dropped seven places in the Fraser Institute’s latest Global Mining Investment Attractiveness Index, sliding to 53rd out of 68 jurisdictions assessed in 2025, down from 46th out of 82 the previous year, in a development that has drawn sharp commentary from opposition politicians and raised questions about the trajectory of the country’s most critical export sector.
Ghana’s overall Investment Attractiveness Index score dipped from 56.98 percent in 2024 to 55.21 percent in 2025, with the sharper drop in ranking reflecting significant gains made by rival countries rather than a steep fall in Ghana’s absolute score. The distinction matters: Ghana did not collapse; it stood still while competitors accelerated.
On the African continent, Ghana ranked eighth out of 16 countries assessed, finishing just two positions ahead of South Africa. Within West Africa, Ghana ranked second after Côte d’Ivoire, which reclaimed the top spot in the sub-region with a score of 60.92, up from 55.70 the previous year. Guinea ranked third in West Africa, followed by Mali and Burkina Faso. Botswana and Morocco led Africa overall in 2025, followed by Zambia and Tanzania.
The Fraser Institute’s Annual Mining Survey evaluates how mineral endowments and public policy factors, such as taxation and regulatory uncertainty, influence exploration investment. It was conducted between August and November 2025, targeting approximately 2,304 mining professionals, of whom over 46 percent were company presidents or vice-presidents.
Samuel Abu Jinapor, Member of Parliament (MP) for Damongo and former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, used the report to mount a pointed critique of the current administration’s policy direction. Jinapor attributed the drop largely to investor concerns about regulatory uncertainty, fiscal policy changes and perceptions of policy inconsistency within the mining sector, and warned that the development could weaken Ghana’s competitiveness and its ability to attract long-term mining investment.
He pointed specifically to the introduction of a sliding royalty regime for the mining sector and to what he characterised as signals of an appetite for resource nationalisation, which he argued had generated unease within the international investment community. Earlier this year, the Ghana Chamber of Mines warned that some fiscal policies risk constraining investment expansion and may not deliver sustainable revenue over the long term.
On the policy perception sub-index specifically, Ghana placed 50th out of 68 jurisdictions in 2025, compared with 46th out of 82 in 2024, with weak scores recorded on regulatory consistency, taxation, trade barriers and the legal framework.
Jinapor also flagged the state of mineral exploration as a structural risk independent of political cycles. He warned that not more than six mines currently have proven reserves sufficient to sustain a mine life of over 15 years, and argued that without prioritised investment in geological investigation, Ghana faces a significant long-term production decline regardless of who is in government.
The Fraser Institute’s survey, while widely cited as a benchmark, measures perceptions rather than objective conditions, and some academics have questioned its methodology and response rate. Its results reflect the views of a limited sample of industry participants and tend to favour investor-friendly regulatory frameworks, which may not fully capture the broader policy or social context of each jurisdiction.
For policymakers in Accra, however, the report carries weight as a signal of how the global exploration community views Ghana’s regulatory environment, at a moment when the country’s gold sector remains central to its economic recovery plans.
