Ayew has been a full international for Ghana since 2008 and has earned over 90 caps. At youth level, he starred for and captained the under-20 team that won both the 2009 African Youth Championship and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He has played in two FIFA World Cups (2010 and 2014), as well as six Africa Cup of Nations (2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2019), helping them finish runners-up in 2010 and 2015, and was top goalscorer at the latter tournament.