Ghana's economy contracted for the first time in almost four decades in the second quarter, by an annual 3.2%, hit by the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, the statistics office said on Wednesday.

The gold-, oil-, and cocoa-producing West African nation imposed a three-week lockdown at the start of the pandemic in March, leading to the shutdown of numerous businesses, government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim told a news conference.

"Even after the restrictions have been lifted, many businesses across sectors have continued to close down," Kobina Annim said.