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Ghana People 2020

SOURCE: 2020 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES











Ghana People 2020
SOURCE: 2020 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES


Page last updated on January 27, 2020

Population:
29,340,248 (July 2020 est.)
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 49
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Ghanaian(s)
adjective: Ghanaian

Ethnic groups:
Akan 47.5%, Mole-Dagbon 16.6%, Ewe 13.9%, Ga-Dangme 7.4%, Gurma 5.7%, Guan 3.7%, Grusi 2.5%, Mande 1.1%, other 1.4% (2010 est.)

Languages:
Asante 16%, Ewe 14%, Fante 11.6%, Boron (Brong) 4.9%, Dagomba 4.4%, Dangme 4.2%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.9%, Kokomba 3.5%, Akyem 3.2%, Ga 3.1%, other 31.2% (2010 est.)
note: English is the official language

Religions:
Christian 71.2% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 28.3%, Protestant 18.4%, Catholic 13.1%, other 11.4%), Muslim 17.6%, traditional 5.2%, other 0.8%, none 5.2% (2010 est.)

Demographic profile:
Ghana has a young age structure, with approximately 57% of the population under the age of 25. Its total fertility rate fell significantly during the 1980s and 1990s but has stalled at around four children per woman for the last few years. Fertility remains higher in the northern region than the Greater Accra region. On average, desired fertility has remained stable for several years; urban dwellers want fewer children than rural residents. Increased life expectancy, due to better health care, nutrition, and hygiene, and reduced fertility have increased Ghana’s share of elderly persons; Ghana’s proportion of persons aged 60+ is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty has declined in Ghana, but it remains pervasive in the northern region, which is susceptible to droughts and floods and has less access to transportation infrastructure, markets, fertile farming land, and industrial centers. The northern region also has lower school enrollment, higher illiteracy, and fewer opportunities for women.

Ghana was a country of immigration in the early years after its 1957 independence, attracting labor migrants largely from Nigeria and other neighboring countries to mine minerals and harvest cocoa – immigrants composed about 12% of Ghana’s population in 1960. In the late 1960s, worsening economic and social conditions discouraged immigration, and hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mostly Nigerians, were expelled.

During the 1970s, severe drought and an economic downturn transformed Ghana into a country of emigration; neighboring Cote d’Ivoire was the initial destination. Later, hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians migrated to Nigeria to work in its booming oil industry, but most were deported in 1983 and 1985 as oil prices plummeted. Many Ghanaians then turned to more distant destinations, including other parts of Africa, Europe, and North America, but the majority continued to migrate within West Africa. Since the 1990s, increased emigration of skilled Ghanaians, especially to the US and the UK, drained the country of its health care and education professionals. Internally, poverty and other developmental disparities continue to drive Ghanaians from the north to the south, particularly to its urban centers.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 37.44% (male 5,524,932/female 5,460,943)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 18.64% (male 2,717,481/female 2,752,601)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 34.27% (male 4,875,985/female 5,177,959)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 5.21% (male 743,757/female 784,517)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 4.44% (male 598,387/female 703,686) (2020 est.)


[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:population pyramid
This is the population pyramid for Ghana. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 73 (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 67.1 (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.9 (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 17.1 (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 21.4 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 21 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 21.9 years (2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 185

Population growth rate:
2.15% (2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 38
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
29.6 births/1,000 population (2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 34
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
6.6 deaths/1,000 population (2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 138
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 156
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Population distribution:
population is concentrated in the southern half of the country, with the highest concentrations being on or near the Atlantic coast

Urbanization:
urban population: 56.7% of total population (2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 3.34% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
3.206 million Kumasi, 2.475 million ACCRA (capital), 900,000 Sekondi Takoradi (2019)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.94 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 97.2 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]

Mother's mean age at first birth:
22.3 years (2017 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
308 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 36
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 32.1 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 35.9 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 28.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 49

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.2 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 65.6 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 70.8 years (2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 176
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]

Total fertility rate:
3.9 children born/woman (2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 32
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
30.8% (2017)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 92.6% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 84% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 88.7% of population
unimproved:
urban: 7.4% of population
rural: 16% of population
total: 11.3% of population (2015 est.)

Current Health Expenditure:
4.4% (2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.18 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
0.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 20.2% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 8.6% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 14.9% of population (2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 79.8% of population (2015 est.)
rural: 91.4% of population (2015 est.)
total: 85.1% of population (2015 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.7% (2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 29
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
330,000 (2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 22
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
14,000 (2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 16
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high (2016)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever (2016)
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis (2016)
animal contact diseases: rabies (2016)
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
10.9% (2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 136
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
11.2% (2014)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 57
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
3.6% of GDP (2017)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 119
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 76.6%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 82%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 71.4% (2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 12 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 12 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 11 years (2017)
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - female country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 15.2%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 15.8%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 14.6% (2015 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data): 91


NOTE: 1) The information regarding Ghana on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Ghana People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Ghana People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
  a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
  b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.






This page was last modified 27-Jan-20
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