Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

households/individuals

Kind of data

survey

Frequency of data collection

Yearly

Sampling procedure

Sample size:

Key information about Ghana Household Expenditure per Capita

• Ghana Annual Household Expenditure per Capita reached 1,161.488 USD in Dec 2018, compared with the last update number of 1,648.827 USD in Dec 2013.
• Ghana Annual Household Expenditure per Capita data is updated yearly, available from Dec 2006 to Dec 2018, with an averaged value of 1,161.488 USD.
• The data reached an all-time high of 1,648.827 USD in Dec 2013 and a record low of 1,008.625 USD in Dec 2006.

The gross national income (GNI) per capita in Ghana reached 2,340 U.S. dollars in 2023, decreasing by 40 U.S. dollars from the preceding year. Generally, the GNI per capita increased in the country compared to 2010, when it stood at 1,200 U.S. dollars.

Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: Annualized Average Growth Rate data was reported at -0.200 % in 2016. Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: Annualized Average Growth Rate data is updated yearly, averaging -0.200 % from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2016, with 1 observations. Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: Annualized Average Growth Rate 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. The growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the bottom 40% is computed as the annualized average growth rate in per capita real consumption or income of the bottom 40% of the population in the income distribution in a country from household surveys over a roughly 5-year period. Mean per capita real consumption or income is measured at 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the PovcalNet (http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet). For some countries means are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The annualized growth rate is computed as (Mean in final year/Mean in initial year)^(1/(Final year - Initial year)) - 1. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported. The initial year refers to the nearest survey collected 5 years before the most recent survey available, only surveys collected between 3 and 7 years before the most recent survey are considered. The final year refers to the most recent survey available between 2011 and 2015. Growth rates for Iraq are based on survey means of 2005 PPP$. The coverage and quality of the 2011 PPP price data for Iraq and most other North African and Middle Eastern countries were hindered by the exceptional period of instability they faced at the time of the 2011 exercise of the International Comparison Program. See PovcalNet for detailed explanations.; ; World Bank, Global Database of Shared Prosperity (GDSP) circa 2010-2015 (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-database-of-shared-prosperity).; ; The comparability of welfare aggregates (consumption or income) for the chosen years T0 and T1 is assessed for every country. If comparability across the two surveys is a major concern for a country, the selection criteria are re-applied to select the next best survey year(s). Annualized growth rates are calculated between the survey years, using a compound growth formula. The survey years defining the period for which growth rates are calculated and the type of welfare aggregate used to calculate the growth rates are noted in the footnotes.

Ghana Labour Force: Urban data was reported at 8,097,964.000 Person in Sep 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 8,120,057.000 Person for Jun 2023. Ghana Labour Force: Urban data is updated quarterly, averaging 7,389,914.000 Person from Mar 2022 (Median) to Sep 2023, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8,120,057.000 Person in Jun 2023 and a record low of 6,951,319.000 Person in Jun 2022. Ghana Labour Force: Urban data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ghana Statistical Service. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ghana – Table GH.G004: Labour Force: Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey.

Abstract

The Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS), with its focus on the household as a key social and economic unit, provides valuable insights into living conditions in Ghana. This present report gives a summary of the main findings of the fourth round survey, which was carried out by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) over a 12-month period (April 1998 to March 1999).

A representative nationwide sample of more than 5,998 households, containing over 25,000 persons, was covered in GLSS 4. Detailed information was collected on all aspects of living conditions, including health, education, employment, housing, agricultural activities, the operation of non-farm establishments, remittances, savings, and credit and assets. The special focus of GLSS 4 was on collecting detailed labour force, income and expenditure data in respect of all household members.

The key findings of the survey are as follows:

Education

Information are given on levels of educational attainment of the adult population, current school enrolment, educational expenditure by households, adult literacy rates, and apprenticeship training. About 32 percent of all adults (representing nearly three and a half million people) have never been to school, a quarter went to school but did not obtain any qualifications; about 33 percent have the MSLC/JSS certificate as their highest qualification, while the remaining 10 percent (a million adults) have secondary or higher-level qualifications (Section 2.1).

About 8 in every ten children aged 6-15, and about half of those aged 16-18, are currently attending school or college. Attendance rates for females are lower than those for males, especially in the northern half of the country (Section 2.2). The average annual cost to a household of maintaining a person at school or college was ¢163,500 per year in March 1999 cedis (Section 2.3). The survey results indicate that 50 percent of adults in Ghana are literate in English or a local language. There are substantial differences between the sexes, and between localities, with regard to literacy. A little over 6 out of every 10 men, but fewer than 4 out of every 10 women, are literate. More than two-thirds (66%) of adults in urban areas are literate, but in rural areas only 41 percent are literate (Section 2.4).

Health

The survey collected data on each person's health condition over the previous two weeks; on the fertility, pre-natal care and contraceptive use of women aged 15-49; on the post-natal care of children aged 5 years and under; and on the preventive health care and vaccination of children aged 7 years and under. About 26 percent of the sample reported having suffered from an illness or injury in the previous two weeks, 61 percent of whom had to stop their usual activities due to the indisposition (Section 3.2).

The survey found that 7.0 percent of women were currently pregnant, and a further 13.2 percent had been pregnant in the last 12 months. Only about 15 percent of all women aged 15-49 or their partners reported using contraceptives; about 11 percent use modern methods, and 4 percent use traditional methods, to prevent or delay pregnancy (Section 3.3). The level of breastfeeding in Ghana is very high; about 98 percent of all children under 5 have been breastfed at one time or another. About 7 percent of children below the age of 8 have never been vaccinated against any of the childhood killer diseases.

Employment

As a major focus of the survey, a wide range of estimates of economic activity, employment, unemployment, underemployment and working conditions are given in the report. The survey also has detailed information about time spent on housekeeping activities. About 77 percent of the adult population (aged 15+) is currently economically active. The activity rates for males and females differ, with the rate for women in the age group (15-64) lower than those for men, but in the younger age group (7-14) and the older age group (65+) the rates for females exceed those for males. For each age group the activity rates for males and females are higher in rural areas (apart from rural savannah) than in urban areas (Section 4.2).

The majority of the working population is employed in agricultural activities (55.0%), followed by trading (18.3%) and then manufacturing (11.7%). Whereas 27.4 percent of working females are engaged in trading, only 7.4 percent of males are traders. The highest hourly wage rates are obtained in mining and quarrying, followed by financial services and then trading. For all areas of employment, females earn lower wages than males (Section 4.3). About 8 percent of the currently active population can be classified as unemployed, but there is also a high degree of underemployment, with some people having a job but wanting to do more work (Section 4.4).

In many households, particularly in rural areas, family members (especially women) spend a great deal of their time fetching water and firewood, in addition to the time spent on other household activities such as cooking and cleaning (Section 4.5).

Migration

The report provides data on migration to create some awareness that would generate further discussions and research into the complex field of population relocation. Some 52 percent of all Ghanaians are migrants, having previously lived in a locality different from where they are living at present; a further 16 percent have moved away from their birthplace, but subsequently returned (Section 5.1).

Housing

Detailed information is presented on a variety of housing characteristics: the occupancy status of the household; household size and room density; access to drinking water, toilet facilities, source of lighting and fuel, rubbish disposal, and materials used in house construction. A little over 40 percent (24 percent in urban areas and 60 percent in rural areas) of the households own the houses they live in. About 80 percent of the households in urban areas have access to pipe-borne water, compared with only 19 percent in rural areas. More than three-quarters of urban households have electricity for lighting, compared with only 17 percent of rural households. Most urban households use charcoal for cooking, whereas most households in rural areas use firewood. Only 14 percent of urban households, and 2 percent of rural households, have access to a flush toilet (Section 6.3).

Household agriculture

About 2.7 million households in Ghana own or operate a farm or keep livestock (Section 7.1). More than half of households, which cultivate crops hire labour for their operations. The major crops, in terms of sales, are cocoa, maize, groundnuts/peanuts, and rice (Section 7.2). About 2 and a half million households process crops or fish for sale, with the major responsibility for this activity falling on women.

Non-farm enterprises

Approximately 1.9 million households or 49 percent of all households in Ghana operate a non-farm business with women operating two-thirds of these businesses. About 56 percent of all businesses involve retail trade, and most of the rest cover some kind of manufacturing (for instance food, beverages, textiles or clothing) (Section 8.1).

Total expenditure

Average annual household expenditure (both cash and imputed) relative to March 1999 prices was about ¢4,244,000. Given an average household size of 4.3, this implies annual per capita expenditure of about ¢987,000 (Section 9.1). With an exchange rate of ¢2,394 to the US dollar prevailing at March 1999, the average annual household expenditure is US$1,773 and the pre-capita expenditure is US$412. Overall, cash expenditure on food represents 45.4 percent of total household expenditure, while the imputed value of own-produced food consumed by households represents a further 10.3 percent (Section 9.2).

Cash expenditure

Relative to March 1999 prices, Ghanaian households spend on average almost ¢3,500,000 a year (at March 1999 prices), or ¢804,000 on per capita basis (Section 9.3). On national terms, just below half of total cash expenditure (46%) went to food and beverages; and alcohol and tobacco, and clothing and footwear, each accounted for about 10 percent of it. The next most important expenditure groups, in terms of amount spent, are recreation and education (7.5%), transport and communications (5.6%), housing and utility (6.4%) and household goods, operations and services (6.0%).

Food consumption

At the time of the survey Ghanaian households (which number about 4.2 million) were spending on average an amount of almost ¢2.4 billion (at March 1999 prices) on food (Section 9.5), with own-grown food consumed amounting to the value of almost ¢435,000 (Section 8.7). The most important food consumption subgroups, in terms of cash expenditure are roots and tubers (22%), fish (16%), cereals and cereal products (15%), vegetables (9%), and meat (5%). Prepared meals account for 11 percent by value of total food consumption.

While the pattern of consumption, in terms of food subgroups, is broadly similar in urban and rural areas, residents in rural areas consume more roots and tubers, and pulses and nuts than their counterparts in urban areas. Expenditure on alcohol and tobacco is also higher in rural areas. In contrast, the consumption of meat and prepared meal are much higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and urban residents spend much more on cereals and cereal products and poultry and poultry products than their rural counterparts (Section 9.5).

Remittances

About 76 percent of all households reported having remitted money or goods in the previous 12 months to persons who were not their household members. The bulk of these remittances to non-household members went to relatives (93%), and in particular to parents or children (50%), brothers or sisters (18%), and other relatives (23%). Such income flows from the household benefited females (64%) more than their male counterparts (36%).

Whilst

Abstract

The Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) financed the construction of a new irrigation scheme in Kpong and the renovation of two irrigation schemes in Botanga and Golinga. This data contains baseline information for the impact evaluation of this activity.

Treatment groups involve households with farmers who belong to FBOs within the geographic perimeters of the new/renovated irrigation schemes; these treatment groups are provided contracted access to an anchor farm that will enable them to receive irrigation. Comparison groups are households outside the water supply perimeters provided by the new/renovated irrigation scheme with characteristics similar to those of households in the treatment groups.

The three main research questions this evaluation will try to answer (once endline data is collected), presented in form of hypotheses to be tested, are: i) new irrigation schemes will raise production from 2 to 3 crops per year; ii) irrigation will allow for diversification of crops and potentially higher yields; and iii) irrigation will increase labor requirements. From these three hypotheses, there are five indicators that can be used to measure the impact of these irrigation activities: (1) total household income; (2) total household income from crop production; (3) paid employment per household; (4) crop mix - annual production output (kilograms) for each of the five most imported crops per household (i.e. want to observe move from low to high-value crops); and (5) crop yield (i.e. monitor output per unit, kilogram/hectare per crop cycle).

To evaluate this program, once endline data is collected, NORC proposed to use a difference-in-difference approach and an IV approach based on a distance indicator (i.e. instrument treatment with “farmer's distance from anchor farm” if we can assume small farms closer to anchor farms are more likely to benefit from activity).

In terms of descriptive statistics there is no clear evidence that households in the treatment group are better or worse off than households in the comparison group at baseline. There are, however, important differences to consider. While the household head in the treatment group is more likely to be female, slightly less educated, and live in an informal dwelling, they were more likely to have children currently attending school. Households within the treatment group also had, on average, higher income, though the variance was high (as is the case with income in general), and the difference was not statistically significant. With respect to farming activities, there are two important differences to highlight across experimental groups. First, households in comparison groups were more likely to own their own plots. This is important because the impact of irrigation activities could be confounded if the households in the treatment group are less likely to make long-term investments than households in the comparison group. Second, households in the treatment group owned smaller plots of land in terms of area, on average.

Geographic coverage

The baseline data includes information from three irrigation schemes in Ghana and their vicinities: Kpong Left Bank, Bontanga and Golinga.

Analysis unit

Households

Universe

Farmer households.

Sampling procedure

Farmers in the treatment group are those that belong to FBOs that operate within the geographic perimeters of the irrigation scheme, and will be able to receive irrigation. Farmers in the comparison group are outside the water supply perimeters, meaning they do not receive the benefits of the irrigation schemes, but are similar in characteristics to the treatment farmers. In total we have 656 farmer households in our sample.

Managing HIV alongside chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes present significant economic challenges for households, especially in low-and middle-income countries. These chronic diseases not only reduce the quality of life of people living with HIV (PLHIV) but also further increase their economic burden. This study seeks to examine the economic burden of managing PLHIV with hypertension and diabetes comorbidities. The cross-sectional cost-of-illness study used quantitative data gathered from 56 PLHIV with hypertension and/or diabetes receiving ART at two Polyclinics and the Pentecost Hospital in the La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipality. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on patients’ socio-demographic characteristics, direct, indirect, and intangible costs between September to December 2023. Data was analyzed and presented descriptively.The total economic cost of PLHIV managing comorbidities was GHS11,892.11 (USD 1,022.54) with a direct cost of GHS10,739.00 (US$ 923.39) accounting for 90.3% and indirect cost of GHS 1,153.14 (US$ 99.15) accounting for 9.7% over 6 months. Direct medical costs constituted 83.1% of total costs with the cost of medicines being the largest cost component. There was a significant difference between the total costs across the comorbidities (X2=8.58, p = 0.0137). Approximately 45.24% of the average annual income per person was spent on managing comorbidities in PLHIV. About 89% of participants reported a low intangible cost burden. This study reveals the significant economic burden on households managing HIV with hypertension and diabetes comorbidities. Direct costs driven by medication expenses constituted the majority of the burden, while productivity losses compounded indirect costs. Despite widespread health insurance coverage, substantial out-of-pocket payments are made in the management of these comorbidities. The findings emphasize the need for integrated healthcare strategies to address both communicable and non-communicable diseases, especially in low-income settings, and policies to reduce financial barriers. Studies should explore long-term burden and strategies to alleviate the economic impact on vulnerable populations.

Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2011 PPP per day data was reported at 2.340 Intl $/Day in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.360 Intl $/Day for 2012. Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2011 PPP per day data is updated yearly, averaging 2.350 Intl $/Day from Dec 2012 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.360 Intl $/Day in 2012 and a record low of 2.340 Intl $/Day in 2016. Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Bottom 40% of Population: 2011 PPP per day 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. Mean consumption or income per capita (2011 PPP $ per day) used in calculating the growth rate in the welfare aggregate of the bottom 40% of the population in the income distribution in a country.; ; World Bank, Global Database of Shared Prosperity (GDSP) circa 2010-2015 (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/global-database-of-shared-prosperity).; ; The choice of consumption or income for a country is made according to which welfare aggregate is used to estimate extreme poverty in PovcalNet. The practice adopted by the World Bank for estimating global and regional poverty is, in principle, to use per capita consumption expenditure as the welfare measure wherever available; and to use income as the welfare measure for countries for which consumption is unavailable. However, in some cases data on consumption may be available but are outdated or not shared with the World Bank for recent survey years. In these cases, if data on income are available, income is used. Whether data are for consumption or income per capita is noted in the footnotes. Because household surveys are infrequent in most countries and are not aligned across countries, comparisons across countries or over time should be made with a high degree of caution.