12,226 lawyers enrolled to the Ghana Bar since 1963

Ghana has produced a total of 12,226 lawyers from 1963 to 2025. These are graduates who completed professional legal training at the Ghana School of Law and were called to the Bar.

This figure is based on information published on the Ghana School of Law’s website.

Why 1963 is significant

Historical records show that on 22 June 1963, Ghana enrolled its first batch of locally trained lawyers. Nine were called to the Bar on that day:

G. E. K. Aikins
D. M. Akotiah
S. H. Anancy
A. K. Bannerman Williams
F. E. Creepy
J. E. Essiem
W. E. Offei
W. Osafo Buabeng
W. P. K. Senayah

A tenth colleague, Kwaku Baah Esq., is said to have been unable to join them on the day due to unforeseen circumstances.

At the ceremony, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah challenged the new lawyers to see the profession as a form of national service, not merely a route to wealth or influence. He urged them to support ordinary people, farmers, workers, and market women with practical legal help, and not to confine their work to the courts alone.

Subsequently, the Ghana School of Law has enrolled lawyers year after year after they had undergone their training. These numbers comprise persons who completed their LLB in Ghana and those who have been called to the Bar in countries with analogous legal systems, who undergo the Post-Call course for enrollment at the Ghana Bar.

Concern about rising numbers

In recent years, public attention has increasingly focused on what many describe as the rising number of lawyers.

In 2025, about 961 lawyers were called to the Ghana Bar. Out of that number, 824 were called during the main ceremony in October, while 137 were called earlier in a mini call.

Women formed the majority, with 513, while men were 448.

Soon after, sections of the public expressed concern, with some describing the numbers as alarming and calling for urgent state action to curb what they saw as a growing pipeline of lawyers in a country like Ghana.

To them, the worry is simple. More calls to the Bar could mean more lawyers competing for limited opportunities, more graduates entering the market, and greater pressure on the profession.

Putting the numbers in context

It is important to separate the number of people called to the Bar from the number of lawyers who actually stay in active practice. A person may be enrolled as a lawyer and still choose not to practice.

As of 31 December 2024, the Ghana Bar Association portal showed 8,462 licensed lawyers, meaning lawyers in active practice. That figure may have increased since then.

If there were about 8,462 practicing lawyers at the end of 2024, measured against a population of more than 30.5 million, can it truly be said that Ghana is producing too many lawyers?

Ghana may be producing thousands of lawyers over time. The more strategic question is whether the country is translating that growing pool into broad public value, stronger access to legal services, and a profession that meets Ghana’s real needs.