World Factbook
Ghana
Republic of Ghana
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
81.3% (2021 est.)
female
72.1% (2021 est.)
total population
76.5% (2021 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 71.3% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 31.6%, Protestant 17.4%, Catholic 10%, other 12.3%), Muslim 19.9%, traditionalist 3.2%, other 4.5%, none 1.1% (2021 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.93 male(s)/female
total population
0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.81 male(s)/female
Birth rate
27.09 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
5.73 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
20.6 years
total
21.6 years (2025 est.)
female
22.3 years
Population
male
17,278,776
total
35,336,133 (2025 est.)
female
18,057,357
Nationality
noun
Ghanaian(s)
adjective
Ghanaian
Tobacco use
male
5.4% (2025 est.)
total
2.8% (2025 est.)
female
0.3% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
59.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
3.06% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
37.4% (male 6,527,386/female 6,400,245)
15-64 years
58.2% (male 9,690,498/female 10,444,197)
65 years and over
4.4% (2024 est.) (male 684,189/female 842,577)
Ethnic groups
Akan 45.7%, Mole-Dagbani 18.5%, Ewe 12.8%, Ga-Dangme 7.1%, Gurma 6.4%, Guan 3.2%, Grusi 2.7%, Mande 2%, other 1.6% (2021 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
2.4% (2022)
women married by age 15
3.3% (2022)
women married by age 18
16.1% (2022)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
70.8 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
63.2 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
13.1 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
7.6 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.27 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
4.2% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
7.4% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2015 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.51 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 74.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 88.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 25.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 11.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 1.6% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
2.9% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
13.2% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
34.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total
30.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
27.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2.12% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.73 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population is concentrated in the southern half of the country, with the highest concentrations on or near the Atlantic coast, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
68.4 years
female
71.8 years
total population
70.1 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
234 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 55.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 73.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 85.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 44.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 26.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 14.3% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.53 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
1.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.39 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.61 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.768 million Kumasi, 2.660 million ACCRA (capital), 1.078 million Sekondi Takoradi (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
10.9% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
22.1 years (2022 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
53.4% (2022 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
12% (2022 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
12 years (2022 est.)
total
12 years (2022 est.)
female
12 years (2022 est.)