Ghana poverty rate for 2016 was 85.40%, a 0.9% decline from 2012.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Ghana poverty rate for 2012 was <strong>86.30%</strong>, a <strong>7.8% decline</strong> from 2005.</li>
<li>Ghana poverty rate for 2005 was <strong>94.10%</strong>, a <strong>2% decline</strong> from 1998.</li>
<li>Ghana poverty rate for 1998 was <strong>96.10%</strong>, a <strong>2.2% decline</strong> from 1991.</li>
</ul>Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

In 2023, around 2.99 million people in Ghana lived in extreme poverty, the majority in rural areas. The count of people living on less than 1.90 U.S. dollars a day in rural regions reached around 2.8 million, while 214,000 extremely poor people were located in urban areas. Overall, within the period examined, the poverty incidence remained above two million in rural communities and between 200 thousand and 350 thousand in urban areas.

As of 2024, some 6.9 million people in Ghana lived in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. This stood as an increase from the previous year when roughly 6.8 million people lived in the said state of poverty. In 2026, around 6.7 million Ghanaians are expected to live on a maximum of 2.15 U.S. dollars daily.

Poverty in the country is segregated

Indeed, poverty figures do not considerably vary when considering men and women apart. In 2024, around 3.5 million men lived in extreme poverty in Ghana, while the count reached roughly 3.3 million for women. On the other hand, in distinguishing the state of extreme poverty among rural and urban dwellers, the difference is striking, even when based on the previously set poverty line of 1.90 U.S. dollars per day. Overall, 1.1 percent of the world's population in extreme poverty lived in Ghana as of 2024.

Ghana's Private Wealth Position in Africa

Ghana is one of the African countries with the highest private wealth concentration, ranking 6th after Kenya as of 2021. That year, the country's total private wealth amounted to 59 billion U.S. dollars, corresponding to around 1,900 U.S. dollars per capita. Between 2011 and 2021, the total wealth held by individuals in Ghana increased, representing a higher growth in comparison to other African countries save five. Overall, the nation ranks 9th in Africa in terms of countries with high net-worth individuals.

The international poverty rate in Ghana as of 2021 was forecast at 11.3 percent, considering the 2011 poverty line set at 1.90 U.S. dollars. The same rate was forecast for 2022, which represented a slight increase compared to 2019, when the poverty rate was measured at 11.1 percent. Overall, no significant change in the population’s percentage living on up to 1.90 U.S. dollars per day was expected in the years following 2019. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact on economic activities have contributed to the slowly-improving poverty levels registered in the country since that year.

Ghana Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data was reported at 32.800 % in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 33.200 % for 2012. Ghana Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data is updated yearly, averaging 33.000 % from Dec 2012 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 33.200 % in 2012 and a record low of 32.800 % in 2016. Ghana Multidimensional Poverty Headcount Ratio: World Bank: % of total population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The multidimensional poverty headcount ratio (World Bank) is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Multidimensional Poverty Measure. The Multidimensional Poverty Measure includes three dimensions – monetary poverty, education, and basic infrastructure services – to capture a more complete picture of poverty.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

In 2023, nine percent of the population in Ghana lived in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at 1.90 U.S. dollars a day. The share was equivalent to nearly three million people. By 2025, the extreme poverty rate is projected to decrease to eight percent.

Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.20 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 32.500 % in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 50.100 % for 2005. Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.20 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 69.050 % from Dec 1987 (Median) to 2012, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 78.600 % in 1991 and a record low of 32.500 % in 2012. Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.20 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank: Poverty. Poverty headcount ratio at $3.20 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $3.20 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 12.000 % in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.500 % for 2005. Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 39.000 % from Dec 1987 (Median) to 2012, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 49.800 % in 1991 and a record low of 12.000 % in 2012. Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank: Poverty. Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $5.50 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 60.500 % in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 77.100 % for 2005. Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $5.50 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 89.100 % from Dec 1987 (Median) to 2012, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 94.000 % in 1987 and a record low of 60.500 % in 2012. Ghana GH: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $5.50 a Day: 2011 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank: Poverty. Poverty headcount ratio at $5.50 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $5.50 a day at 2011 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

Ghana’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which complements the monetary poverty by providing an assessment of deprivation of basic survival needs.

As of 2023, nearly three million people in Ghana lived in extreme poverty, with the poverty threshold at 1.90 U.S. dollars a day. This stood as a decrease from the previous year, when over three million people lived in the said state of poverty. The headcount was expected to keep the declining trend by 2025, when around 2.8 million Ghanaians might live on a maximum of 1.90 U.S. dollars per day.

This spreadsheet contains the data extracted from questionnaires administered for the study on the topic "FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND HOUSEHOLD POVERTY: EVIDENCE FROM THE RURAL WA WEST DISTRICT OF GHANA".

This data contains responses from 358 households statistically selected from a population of 23,615 households representing 222 communities within 5 area councils across Wa West District of the Upper West Region of Ghana. Wa West District is located in the western part of the region and shares physical boundaries with Nadowli-Kaleo District to the North, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District to the South, Wa Municipal to the East, and the Republic of Burkina Faso to the West.

The data is collected on; (i) Respondent/ Hosehold Demographics (ii) Ownership and usage of account (iii) Frequency of Savings (iv) Withdrawals (v) Access to and usage of Credit (vi) Access to and usage Insurance (vii) Financial Advice (viii) Household Consumption Expenditure (ix)Advancing Financial Inclusion to Reduce Poverty.

The questionnaire designed and used for the study is attached to the data.

This report consists of four chapters. Chapter one profiles the trends in household consumption and poverty rates, and in the characteristics of the poor observed between 1991 and 2012. Descriptive statistics of consumption and selected poverty indexes are presented and a profile of the characteristics of the poor is given. The chapter concludes with an analysis of vulnerability. Chapter two uses descriptive and econometric techniques to identify the drivers of Ghana’s success over the last two decades. Chapter three examines the main challenges Ghana continues to face: widening inequalities, a persistent spatial divide, and the deteriorating macroeconomic environment. Chapter four provides a roadmap for policy action to effectively address these challenges and consolidate Ghana’s success as a middle-income economy.

After the return to democracy, Ghana achieved significant economic growth and poverty reduction. However, in recent years, the rate of poverty reduction has slowed, becoming insignificant after 2012. The largest reduction in poverty, 2 percent per year, was reached from 1991–1998. Subsequently, the rate of decline fell to 1.4 percent in 1998–2005, 1.1 percent in 2005–2012, and dropped to 0.2 percent per year between 2012 and 2016. The slowdown in poverty reduction was not due to a reduction in GDP per capita growth, which peaked between 2005 and 2012 and remained high between 2012 and 2016. Rather, it was due to a drop in the rate to which economic growth translated into poverty reduction. The growth elasticity of poverty (percentage reduction in poverty associated for every one percentage change in GDP per capita) was 1.2 between 1991 and 1998 but declined to less than 0.1 between 2012 and 2016, indicating a 1 percent increase in GDP per capita led to less than 0.1 percent reduction in poverty.

Ghana GH: Poverty Gap at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % data was reported at 3.500 % in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8.200 % for 2005. Ghana GH: Poverty Gap at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % data is updated yearly, averaging 13.050 % from Dec 1987 (Median) to 2012, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17.700 % in 1991 and a record low of 3.500 % in 2012. Ghana GH: Poverty Gap at $1.90 a Day: 2011 PPP: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Poverty gap at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) is the mean shortfall in income or consumption from the poverty line $1.90 a day (counting the nonpoor as having zero shortfall), expressed as a percentage of the poverty line. This measure reflects the depth of poverty as well as its incidence. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. The aggregated numbers for low- and middle-income countries correspond to the totals of 6 regions in PovcalNet, which include low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia). See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

In 2024, an estimated 6.9 million people in Ghana lived in extreme poverty, the majority being the male population. The number of men in the country living on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars a day reached around 3.5 million, while the count was at 3.3 million for women. Overall, 1.1 percent of the global population in extreme poverty was found in Ghana as of 2024.

Ghana GH: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data was reported at 31.700 % in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 32.700 % for 2005. Ghana GH: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data is updated yearly, averaging 29.850 % from Dec 1987 (Median) to 2012, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 32.700 % in 2005 and a record low of 27.300 % in 1987. Ghana GH: Income Share Held by Highest 10% data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank.WDI: Poverty. Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles.; ; World Bank, Development Research Group. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/index.htm).; ; The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than one thousand six hundred household surveys across 164 countries in six regions and 25 other high income countries (industrialized economies). While income distribution data are published for all countries with data available, poverty data are published for low- and middle-income countries and countries eligible to receive loans from the World Bank (such as Chile) and recently graduated countries (such as Estonia) only. See PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/WhatIsNew.aspx) for definitions of geographical regions and industrialized countries.

Ghana GH: Poverty Gap at National Poverty Lines: % data was reported at 7.800 % in 2012. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.000 % for 2005. Ghana GH: Poverty Gap at National Poverty Lines: % data is updated yearly, averaging 9.400 % from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2012, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.000 % in 2005 and a record low of 7.800 % in 2012. Ghana GH: Poverty Gap at National Poverty Lines: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.World Bank: Poverty. Poverty gap at national poverty lines is the mean shortfall from the poverty lines (counting the nonpoor as having zero shortfall) as a percentage of the poverty lines. This measure reflects the depth of poverty as well as its incidence.; ; World Bank, Global Poverty Working Group. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines.; ; This series only includes estimates that to the best of our knowledge are reasonably comparable over time for a country. Due to differences in estimation methodologies and poverty lines, estimates should not be compared across countries.

Contains data from the World Bank's data portal covering the following topics which also exist as individual datasets on HDX: Agriculture and Rural Development, Aid Effectiveness, Economy and Growth, Education, Energy and Mining, Environment, Financial Sector, Health, Infrastructure, Social Protection and Labor, Poverty, Private Sector, Public Sector, Science and Technology, Social Development, Urban Development, Gender, Millenium development goals, Climate Change, External Debt, Trade.

Abstract

The Ghana Statistical Service, in collaboration with the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and the Navrongo Health Research Centre of the Ghana Health Service, conducted the fourth round of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2011), with funding and technical support from UNICEF, USAID, US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and ICF Macro in Calverton, Maryland, USA. The main objective of the survey was to provide up-to-date information for assessing the health situation of the population, particularly women and children in Ghana.

MICS 2011 is a nationally representative household sample survey of 12,150 households in 810 enumeration areas (EAs). The survey is expected to provide estimates of all key health indicators at the national and regional levels, as well as for urban and rural areas. Moreover, four of the 10 regions that are of particular importance for UNICEF’s programmes will be disproportionally oversampled so as to provide some data at the district level. The four oversampled regions are Central, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West.

MICS 2011 uses four main questionnaires: a Household Questionnaire, a Woman’s Questionnaire for women age 15-49, a Man’s Questionnaire for men age 15-59, and a Child’s Questionnaire for children under five year (with questions posed to the child’s primary caretaker). Major topics covered in these questionnaires include household characteristics, characteristics of respondents, child mortality, child nutritional status, breastfeeding, Vitamin A supplementation, birth registration, birth weight, immunization, salt iodization, oral rehydration treatment, care seeking and antibiotic treatment of pneumonia, , the proportion of households with insecticide treated nets (ITNs), the proportion of the population that sleep under ITNs, solid fuel use, water and sanitation, contraception, antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care, child ,school attendance, literacy, child discipline, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), domestic violence (DV), sexual behaviour, HIV/AIDS and the prevalence of malaria parasites and anaemia among children aged 6-59 months. Consequently, blood samples of all children age 6-59 months will be collected for the malaria and anaemia tests. Although malaria indicators (e.g., bednet ownership and use, coverage of intermittent preventive treatment and treatment of childhood fever) will be collected in all households, the malaria and anaemia testing components will be implemented in all households in six regions, but confined to every second household in the four over-sampled regions.

It is hoped that the findings from MICS 2011 would provide up-to-date information on progress made towards targets set by the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other national and international programmes aimed at promoting the welfare of women and children. The results are also expected to help policy planners improve on access and quality of health-related services in the country.

The MICS 2011 data collection was carried out over a period of three months (September 15 -December 14, 2011) by 20 field teams spread across the country. In order to help achieve the objectives of the survey, enumeration areas (EAs) were selected in some towns and communities within the various districts. In each of these EAs, 15 households were visited and interviewed by a field team comprising of a Supervisor (team leader), 1 Field Editor, 3 Interviewers, 1 Biomarker Technician, and a driver.

Geographic coverage

National Regional

Analysis unit

Households and Individuals

Universe

The survey covered 810 enumeration areas and 12,150 households across the country. In terms of eligibility, it covered the following households members:

1. All women age 15-49 years
2. All men age 15-49 years
3. All children under 5 years
4. All household members

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample for the MICS 2006 was designed to provide estimates on a large number of indicators on the health status of women, men, and children at the national level, for urban and rural areas, as well as for the 10 administrative regions in the country.

The list of enumeration areas (EAs) from the 2010 Ghana Population and Housing Census (PHC) served as a frame for the MICS sample. The frame was first stratified into the 10 administrative regions in the country, then into urban and rural EAs.

Sampling deviation

No deviation from the original sample design was made

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Four main questionnaires were used for the MICS 2011 data collection:

1. Household information: Individual members, head of household, sex, age, marital status, relation to head of household, education, water and sanitation, working children, child discipline, disability and salt iodization
2. Children under 5 years: breastfeeding, care of illness, malaria, immunization, anthropometry, anaemia and malaria testing
3. Women 15-49 years: infant/child mortality, tetanus toxoid, maternal and newborn health, marriage/union, contraception, female genital mutilation, attitude towards domestic violence, sexual behavior, and HIV/AIDS
4. Men 15-49 years: reproduction, marriage, sexual behavior, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and attitudes toward domestic violence

Cleaning operations

Data editing is a very important measure to enhance data quality. In the MICS survey, data editing occured at three levels:

1. Field editing by editors and supervisors - In all the clusters that data were collected, ediors and supervisors revisited households and collected information which was either left out, uncompleted or responses which were not clear. Thus, data were validated in the field
2. Office editing-The purpose of office editing which was carried out under the MICS survey was to ensure that field data collection had conformed to the laid-down principles and procedures. Necessary codes, names, values were provided
3. Data cleaning and imputation - This stage offered the data processing personnel the opportunity to run further checks that ensured consistency. In a situation where inconsistencies were huge, field monitors were sent back to the field for verification of data that had been collected and thereafter, the necessary corrections made
4. Individual data files were also checked for completeness and consistency.

Data appraisal

Using SPSS software, basic data consistency checks were made and the necessary gaps were filled.