This statistic shows the total population of Ghana from 2013 to 2023 by gender. In 2023, Ghana's female population amounted to approximately 16.91 million, while the male population amounted to approximately 16.88 million inhabitants.

Population, female (% of total population) in Ghana was reported at 50.06 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Ghana - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

In 2023, an estimated 2.99 million people in Ghana lived in extreme poverty, the majority being the male population. The number of men living on less than 1.90 U.S. dollars a day in the country reached around 1.5 million, while the count was at 1.44 million for women. Overall, 0.5 percent of the global population in extreme poverty were found in Ghana as of 2022.

In 2023, the annual population growth in Ghana was 1.91 percent. Between 1961 and 2023, the figure dropped by 0.94 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

In 2024, the unemployed male population in Ghana was estimated at around 295,500. On the other hand, the female population without any form of employment was projected to be slightly higher, at approximately 297,000. The number of people of working age who are not in employment has fluctuated since 2010. In 2015, the rate of unemployment in Ghana reached a peak of nearly seven percent.

In 2023, the labor force participation rate for women in Ghana reached 65.3 percent, a slight decrease from the previous year. Between 2010 and 2016, the rate steadily decreased, while from 2016 onwards, slight general increases were registered. Men are in the lead in labor force Among the male population, the labor participation rate stood at around 72.5 percent as of 2023. The labor force in Ghana was slightly higher among men compared to women, as the latter represented 47 percent of the total. Overall, the majority of the workforce, over 12.1 million people, were aged 25 years and older as of 2023. Overall employment situation Ghana has a population of over 30 million, with an estimated median age of 20.2 years as of 2020. In 2023, around 14.3 million people were employed in the country, a rise compared to previous years. Furthermore, the services sector is a leading sector in employment, followed by agriculture and industries. In 2022, more than 41 percent of the total employment in Ghana was in the services sector, while close to 40 percent was in the industry sector. Also, in terms of employment in agriculture, most of the employees were men.

In 2023, while the employed male population in Ghana was estimated at 7.4 million, female employees were projected to be slightly lower, at around 6.8 million. The total working population has steadily increased since 2013. The services sector in the country stands as a major source of employment.

The gender parity index (GPI) for gross primary school enrollment in Ghana was 1.02 points in 2020. Between 1971 and 2020, the GPI rose by 0.18 points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

In Ghana, 72.8 percent of the female population and 64.7 percent of the male population was registered under a health insurance scheme as of 2021. This means that the health insurance coverage was less predominant within the male population.

In 2022, the government of Ghana spent nearly three percent of its total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education. Between 2008 and 2022, government spending in the sector fluctuated, with the highest shares recorded in 2011 (8.14 percent of GDP) and 2012 (7.92 percent of GDP). On the other hand, the lowest level of educational spending was in 2019 (3.15 percent of GDP).

In 2021, the number of children out of school in Ghana amounted to 547,860 people. Between 1999 and 2021, the figure dropped by 821,890 people, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

The gross enrollment ratio for secondary school students in Ghana stood at 76.78 percent in 2022. Between 1971 and 2022, the gross enrollment ratio rose by 36.53 percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

At the secondary education level in Ghana, there were nearly 195.9 official teachers in 2021. This represented a decrease in the number of secondary school teaching personnel, compared to a peak in 2020. On the whole, the number of teaching staff at this stage of education has increased over the past years.

In 2019, most academic staff in private and public universities in Ghana were employed in full-time out of which workers with lecturer titles (4,117 in all) outnumbered other faculty titles, followed by Senior lecturer positions. Lecturers with part-time employee status were highest in number compared to other part-time workers, and this was followed by tutors who worked in the same time capacity. Professors in these institutions were the least number of academic faculty members in both full-time and part-time employment.