Ghana has a total population of 31.1 million (in 2020), of which 42.65% of the population live in rural areas [3], where agriculture is the main livelihood. The country’s population is projected to reach 52.02 million by 2050, and the proportion of working-age population is projected to increase from its current 59.73% to 64.11% by 2050 [4].  

Ghana’s urban population has rapidly grown over the last five decades. The urban population increased to 57.35% of the total population in 2021, from 28.96% in 1970, an increase of almost 100% in 50 years. Projections indicate that the urban population in Ghana will reach 38.06 million by 2050, or 73.2% of the country’s total population [4].  

This rapid rate of urbanization has brought several economic, environmental, health, and social challenges. Challenges include, among several others, inadequate financial resources, insufficient employment opportunities, spreading homelessness and expansion of squatter settlements, improper land use, insecure land tenure, insufficient and inadequate water supply and poor sanitation, unplanned urban development and an increasing vulnerability to disaster [5].

Ghana has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with an annual GDP growth rate of 4.96% over the last two decades since 2001. In 2011, Ghana moved to Lower Middle-Income Country status [6]. Over the last four decades, the contribution of the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, and fishing) to GDP has declined from 57.92% in 1980, to 18.24% in 2020 [7].

Ghana has abundant natural resources (gold, diamond, bauxite, timber, cocoa, biodiversity, fertile agricultural land and renewable natural resources such as sunshine, wind, waste and biomass) with great potential for the attainment of sustainable development. However, Ghana's inability to take full advantage of these resources has contributed to high unemployment and poverty rates, energy crises and inadequate funding to finance its developmental projects [8].

On the back of strong economic growth throughout the past decade, Ghana aims to graduate from lower middle- income status. To achieve this, economic growth will have to accelerate, and productivity will need to rise. Achieving this ambitious goal will necessarily involve, among other things, a more effective application of science, technology and innovation (STI) in the economy in order to drive productivity growth and diversification in production. To date, however, the role played by STI in Ghana’s development has been limited [9].

Ghana is regularly affected by floods and prone to earthquakes. Although the country is generally stable, some areas in the north still regularly experience episodes of conflict and violence [10].