8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Africa / Western Africa

Born in Ghana

About 1 in 149 people born in 2023 started life in Ghana. A boy can expect to live 63 years and a girl 68, up from 41 and 45 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 89% have basic drinking water.

1 in 149
odds of being born here
888,900 births · Ranked 36th of 230
63 / 68
years of life, boys / girls
Was 41 / 45 in 1950
$2,223
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 164th of 203 · extrapolated
58%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 22 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 254 in every 1,000 births to 41.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth63.1 years for boys, 67.9 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 541.0 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year238,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.3World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles90%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV1.5%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year129 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year195 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.7 children on average in 1950. Now it is 3.4.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman3.40UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.5 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 49 and the poorest fifth 5.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2016
5%Poorest fifth
10%Second
15%Middle
22%Fourth
49%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,223 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth49% / 5% (2016)World Bank PIP
Unemployment2.8% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises38.1% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person1.2% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming36% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed67% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment77% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Kumasi, with 2.5 million people.

58%
live in cities
90%
have electricity at home
89%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Kumasi2.5 million
Accra2.0 million
Tamale464,316
Takoradi389,114
Sekondi285,506
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Akan39%
English21%
Ewe11%
Frafra4%
Adangme3%
Akan, English, Ewe, Ga is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Greater Accra3.2 million
Ashanti3.1 million
Western979,425
Central809,777
Northern603,908
Eastern547,063
Volta432,670
Bono403,202
Bono East236,138
Upper East183,887

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 16 regions
  • Greater Accra3.2 million
  • Ashanti3.1 million
  • Western979,425
  • Central809,777
  • Northern603,908
  • Eastern547,063
  • Volta432,670
  • Bono403,202
  • Bono East236,138
  • Upper East183,887
  • Upper West169,386
  • Ahafo92,009
  • Savannah49,016
  • Western North36,487
  • Oti22,445
  • North East17,440

People on the move

About 3.1% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are United States, Nigeria, United Kingdom.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
United States258,358
Nigeria255,531
United Kingdom154,782
Residents born abroad1.5% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 3.1% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostUnited States (258,358), Nigeria (255,531), United Kingdom (154,782)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $2.4 billion a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

16% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

16%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2023)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20241,462Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence2,423 between 1991 and 2008UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Ghana, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Ghana

Elsewhere in Africa

All countries

How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences