Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 82.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Ghana, 1.7% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 0.3% of people as of 2020.

be 19.3% less likely to be obese

In Ghana, 10.9% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Senegal, that number is 8.8% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 34.3% less money

Ghana has a GDP per capita of $6,700 as of 2023, while in Senegal, the GDP per capita is $4,400 as of 2023.

be 99.6% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Ghana, 23.4% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Senegal, however, that number is 46.7% as of 2011.

pay a 60.0% higher top tax rate

Ghana has a top tax rate of 25.0% as of 2016. In Senegal, the top tax rate is 40.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 28.7% less likely to be literate

In Ghana, the literacy rate is 79.0% as of 2018. In Senegal, it is 56.3% as of 2021.

Basic Needs

be 20.2% less likely to have access to electricity

In Ghana, approximately 85% of people have electricity access (95% in urban areas, and 74% in rural areas) as of 2022. In Senegal, that number is 68% of people on average (94% in urban areas, and 43% in rural areas) as of 2022.

be 14.7% less likely to have internet access

In Ghana, approximately 68.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Senegal, about 58.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 37.5% more on education

Ghana spends 4.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Senegal spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 30.0% more on healthcare

Ghana spends 4.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Senegal, that number is 5.2% of GDP as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Direction Generale des Impots et des Domaines, Ghana Revenue Authority.

Senegal: At a glance

Senegal is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 192,530 sq km. The French colonies of Senegal and the French Sudan were merged in 1959 and granted their independence as the Mali Federation in 1960. The union broke up after only a few months. Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. The envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. The Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-level separatist insurgency in southern Senegal since the 1980s, and several peace deals have failed to resolve the conflict. Nevertheless, Senegal remains one of the most stable democracies in Africa and has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping and regional mediation. Senegal was ruled by a Socialist Party for 40 years until Abdoulaye WADE was elected president in 2000. He was reelected in 2007 and during his two terms amended Senegal's constitution over a dozen times to increase executive power and to weaken the opposition. His decision to run for a third presidential term sparked a large public backlash that led to his defeat in a March 2012 runoff election with Macky SALL.
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How big is Senegal compared to Ghana? See an in-depth size comparison.

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