Gini coefficient (before tax) in Ghana
Ghana: Gini coefficient (before tax) was 0.6078 in 2016. ▼ Falling
Gini coefficient (before tax) in Ghana, 1943–2016
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 0.6078 for gini coefficient (before tax) in 2016.
The figure is down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gini coefficient (before tax) in Ghana peaked at 0.6813 in 1959 and was at its lowest, 0.5573, in 1988.
Ghana ranks 25th of 113 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Gini coefficient (before tax) in Ghana, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 | 0.6491 | — |
| 1951 | 0.6522 | +0.5% |
| 1952 | 0.6559 | +0.6% |
| 1953 | 0.6634 | +1.1% |
| 1954 | 0.6659 | +0.4% |
| 1955 | 0.6684 | +0.4% |
| 1956 | 0.6763 | +1.2% |
| 1957 | 0.6786 | +0.3% |
| 1958 | 0.6807 | +0.3% |
| 1959 | 0.6813 | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 0.5573 | -18.2% |
| 1991 | 0.5794 | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 0.5805 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 0.6098 | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 0.6027 | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 0.6078 | +0.8% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 0.6078 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.5789, 1.0× the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 0.6078 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5771, 1.1× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 0.6491 | 0.6491 | 0.6491 | 1 |
| 1950s | 0.6692 | 0.6522 | 0.6813 | 9 |
| 1980s | 0.5573 | 0.5573 | 0.5573 | 1 |
| 1990s | 0.5799 | 0.5794 | 0.5805 | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.6098 | 0.6098 | 0.6098 | 1 |
| 2010s | 0.6053 | 0.6027 | 0.6078 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More poverty & inequality data for Ghana
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 3.4 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,688 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 10.43 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 13.54 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 13.5% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gini coefficient (before tax) in Ghana?
- Gini coefficient (before tax) in Ghana was 0.6078 in 2016, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6813 in 1959.
- What is the lowest gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5573 in 1988.
- How does Ghana rank for gini coefficient (before tax)?
- Ghana ranks 25th out of 113 countries with data for 2016.
- Is gini coefficient (before tax) rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gini coefficient (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The Gini coefficient measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of income before taxes and benefits.