In 2019, the individual living wage in Ghana amounted to 900 Ghana cedis (GHS) (approximately 154.78 U.S. dollars) per month, which was an increase of 40 GHS (around 6.87 U.S. dollars) compared to the previous year. Overall, the individual monthly living wage in the country grew from 880 GHS (roughly 151.12 U.S. dollars) in 2015 to 900 GHS in 2018.

Minimum Wages in Ghana increased to 19.97 GHS/Day in 2025 from 18.15 GHS/Day in 2024. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Ghana Daily Minimum Wage.

As of 2023 people in Ghana employed in the field of executive management and change received the highest average salary of ****** U.S. dollars per year. Engineering and financial service professionals followed, with ****** and ****** U.S. dollars of annual earnings, respectively. According to the source, the lowest salary was received by individuals working in the area of logistics, operations and purchasing, as this amounted to ***** U.S. dollars per year.

In 2022, the base pay in Ghana amounted to 11.34 Ghanaian cedis (GHS) (approximately 0.92 U.S. dollars), registering an increase of 0.74 GHS (around 0.06 U.S. dollars) compared to 2021. Overall, contrary to the period between 2010 and 2013 which recorded a daily base pay higher than the daily minimum wage in Ghana, the period from 2014 to 2022 registered a base salary lower than the minimum wage.

Ghana GH: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 20.600 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 18.000 % for 2012. Ghana GH: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 16.300 % from Dec 1987 (Median) to 2016, with 7 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.600 % in 2016 and a record low of 13.000 % in 1988. Ghana GH: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % 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 percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. 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.;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).

The gross national income (GNI) per capita in Ghana reached 2,350 U.S. dollars in 2022, increasing by 50 U.S. dollars from the preceding year. The value has followed an increasing trend since 2017, when the per capita income stood at 1,880 U.S. dollars.

Ghana: Personal income per capita, U.S. dollars: The latest value from is U.S. dollars, unavailable from U.S. dollars in . In comparison, the world average is 0 U.S. dollars, based on data from countries. Historically, the average for Ghana from to is U.S. dollars. The minimum value, U.S. dollars, was reached in while the maximum of U.S. dollars was recorded in .

Key information about Ghana Monthly Earnings

• Ghana Monthly Earnings stood at 242 USD in Dec 2015, compared with the previous figure of 250 USD in Dec 2013
• Ghana Monthly Earnings data is updated yearly, available from Dec 2013 to Dec 2015, with an average number of 246 USD
• The data reached the an all-time high of 250 USD in Dec 2013 and a record low of 242 USD in Dec 2015

• In the latest reports, Ghana Population reached 31 million people in Dec 2020
• Unemployment Rate of Ghana increased to 4 % in Dec 2023
• The country's Labour Force Participation Rate dropped to 69 % in Dec 2023

As of 2022, the daily minimum wage in Ghana stood at ***** Ghanaian cedis (GHS) (approximately *** U.S. dollars), representing an increase of one cedi (around **** U.S. dollars) from the previous year. The minimum wage in the country progressively increased from 2010 onwards. Moreover, in 2022, the base pay in Ghana increased along with the minimum wage. Overall, the 2003 Labor Act mandates the Ghana National Tripartite Committee to determine the national daily minimum wage.

Ghana: Income from natural resources, percent of GDP: The latest value from 2021 is 13.35 percent, an increase from 8.49 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 6.83 percent, based on data from 186 countries. Historically, the average for Ghana from 1970 to 2021 is 9.02 percent. The minimum value, 2.34 percent, was reached in 1971 while the maximum of 16.07 percent was recorded in 2011.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

households/individuals

Kind of data

survey

Frequency of data collection

Yearly

Sampling procedure

Sample size:

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 GH: Wage And Salary Workers: Modeled ILO Estimate: Male: % of Male Employment data was reported at 36.370 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 36.279 % for 2016. Ghana GH: Wage And Salary Workers: Modeled ILO Estimate: Male: % of Male Employment data is updated yearly, averaging 22.609 % from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2017, with 27 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 36.370 % in 2017 and a record low of 20.721 % in 1999. Ghana GH: Wage And Salary Workers: Modeled ILO Estimate: Male: % of Male Employment 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: Employment and Unemployment. Wage and salaried workers (employees) are those workers who hold the type of jobs defined as 'paid employment jobs,' where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts that give them a basic remuneration that is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work.; ; International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database. Data retrieved in September 2018.; Weighted average; Data up to 2016 are estimates while data from 2017 are projections.

Ghana: Income, profits, and capital gains taxes: percent of revenue: The latest value from 2022 is 39.76 percent, a decline from 39.9 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 31.54 percent, based on data from 93 countries. Historically, the average for Ghana from 1990 to 2022 is 27.43 percent. The minimum value, 15.23 percent, was reached in 1993 while the maximum of 43.03 percent was recorded in 2020.

This dataset provides values for MINIMUM WAGES reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

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. The survey 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 IV. The fourth round of the GLSS has the following objectives: · To provide information on patterns of household consumption and expenditure disaggregated at greater levels. · In combination with the data from the earlier rounds to serve as a database for national and regional planning. · To provide in-depth information on the structure and composition of the wages and conditions of work of the labor force in the country. · To provide benchmark data for compilation of current statistics on average earnings, hours of work and time rates of wages and salaries that will indicate wage/salary differentials between industries, occupations, geographic locations and gender. Additionally, the survey will enable policy-makers to · Identify vulnerable groups for government assistance; · Analyze the impact of decisions that have already been implemented and of the economic situation on living conditions of households; · Monitor and evaluate the employment policies and programs, income generating and maintenance schemes, vocational training and similar programs. The joint measure of employment, income and expenditure provides the basis for analyzing the adequacy of employment of different categories of workers and income-generating capacity of employment-related economic development.

Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Total Population: Annualized Average Growth Rate data was reported at 1.270 % in 2016. Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Total Population: Annualized Average Growth Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 1.270 % from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2016, with 1 observations. Ghana GH: Survey Mean Consumption or Income per Capita: Total 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 total population is computed as the annualized average growth rate in per capita real consumption or income of the total 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.

The Personal Income Tax Rate in Ghana stands at 35 percent. This dataset provides - Ghana Personal Income Tax Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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

At the lower-middle-income level, the poverty rate in Ghana was forecast at 26.8 percent in 2021, meaning this share of the population lived up on 3.20 U.S. dollars per day. Considering the upper-middle-income level, at 5.50 U.S. dollars per day, the poverty rate was forecast at 51.7 percent. The values changed slightly compared to the previous years in analysis. This means that the rate of poverty in Ghana was not expected to experience drastic changes in the years following 2019. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact on economic activities could be attributed to the unimproved poverty levels registered in the country.