Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Ghana instead of Gambia, you would:

Health

live 1.8 years longer

In Gambia, the average life expectancy is 68 years (66 years for men, 69 years for women) as of 2022. In Ghana, that number is 69 years (68 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 2.3 times more money

Gambia has a GDP per capita of $2,900 as of 2023, while in Ghana, the GDP per capita is $6,700 as of 2023.

be 52.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Gambia, 6.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Ghana, that number is 3.1% as of 2023.

be 56.2% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Gambia, 53.4% live below the poverty line as of 2020. In Ghana, however, that number is 23.4% as of 2016.

Life

be 42.6% less likely to die during childbirth

In Gambia, approximately 458.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Ghana, 263.0 women do as of 2020.

be 36.0% more likely to be literate

In Gambia, the literacy rate is 58.1% as of 2021. In Ghana, it is 79.0% as of 2018.

be 12.4% less likely to die during infancy

In Gambia, approximately 37.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Ghana, on the other hand, 32.6 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 30.1% more likely to have access to electricity

In Gambia, approximately 65% of people have electricity access (82% in urban areas, and 31% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Ghana, that number is 85% of people on average (95% in urban areas, and 74% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 2.1 times more likely to have internet access

In Gambia, approximately 33.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Ghana, about 68.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 42.9% more on education

Gambia spends 2.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Ghana spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 53.8% more on healthcare

Gambia spends 2.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Ghana, that number is 4.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 6.7 times more coastline

Gambia has a total of 80 km of coastline. In Ghana, that number is 539 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Ghana: At a glance

Ghana is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 227,533 sq km. Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta MILLS won the 2008 presidential election and took over as head of state, but he died in July 2012 and was constitutionally succeeded by his vice president John Dramani MAHAMA, who subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election.
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How big is Ghana compared to Gambia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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