The National Youth Authority (NYA) was established in 1974 by NRDC 241. It is thus, a Statutory Public Organization with the mandate to co-ordinate and facilitates youth empowerment activities in Ghana to ensure development of the Ghanaian the youth as a whole.

The Authority was formerly known as “the National Youth Council (NYC).” In 1981, by an administrative directive, the Council was transformed into a “Commission” status as “the National Youth Organizing Commission” with the focus to organize a mass national youth movement called the “Democratic Youth League of Ghana (DYLG).”

With the inception of constitutional rule in 1992, the Commission status reverted to the “Council” once more. In consequence of a statute law revision exercise under the laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) Act, 1998 (Act 562), the nomenclature of the Authority was changed to the current, “National Youth Authority”.