Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 52.0% less likely to be obese

In Panama, 22.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Ghana, that number is 10.9% of people as of 2016.

be 70.0% more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Panama, 1.0% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Ghana, that number is 1.7% of people as of 2020.

live 8.2 years less

In Panama, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 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

be 54.0% less likely to be unemployed

In Panama, 6.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Ghana, that number is 3.1% as of 2023.

make 81.3% less money

Panama has a GDP per capita of $35,800 as of 2023, while in Ghana, the GDP per capita is $6,700 as of 2023.

Life

have 58.6% more children

In Panama, there are approximately 17.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ghana, there are 27.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 5.3 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Panama, approximately 50.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Ghana, 263.0 women do as of 2020.

be 17.5% less likely to be literate

In Panama, the literacy rate is 95.7% as of 2019. In Ghana, it is 79.0% as of 2018.

be 98.2% more likely to die during infancy

In Panama, approximately 16.4 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 10.4% less likely to have access to electricity

In Panama, approximately 95% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 86% 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.

Expenditures

spend 58.8% less on healthcare

Panama spends 9.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Ghana, that number is 4.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 78.4% less coastline

Panama has a total of 2,490 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 Panama? See an in-depth size comparison.

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