Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Ghana instead of United States, you would:

Health

be 69.9% less likely to be obese

In United States, 36.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Ghana, that number is 10.9% of people as of 2016.

live 11.2 years less

In United States, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 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 15.2% less likely to be unemployed

In United States, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Ghana, that number is 3.1% as of 2023.

pay a 36.9% lower top tax rate

United States has a top tax rate of 39.6% as of 2016. In Ghana, the top tax rate is 25.0% as of 2016.

make 90.9% less money

United States has a GDP per capita of $73,600 as of 2023, while in Ghana, the GDP per capita is $6,700 as of 2023.

be 55.0% more likely to live below the poverty line

In United States, 15.1% live below the poverty line as of 2010. In Ghana, however, that number is 23.4% as of 2016.

Life

have 2.3 times more children

In United States, there are approximately 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ghana, there are 27.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 12.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In United States, approximately 21.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Ghana, 263.0 women do as of 2020.

be 6.3 times more likely to die during infancy

In United States, approximately 5.2 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 14.9% less likely to have access to electricity

In United States, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2022. In Ghana, 85% of the population do as of 2022.

be 26.1% less likely to have internet access

In United States, approximately 92.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Ghana, about 68.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 34.4% less on education

United States spends 6.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Ghana spends 4.0% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 78.7% less on healthcare

United States spends 18.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Ghana, that number is 4.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 97.3% less coastline

United States has a total of 19,924 km of coastline. In Ghana, that number is 539 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Ghana Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service.

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 United States? See an in-depth size comparison.

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