Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Ghana
Ghana: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day was 85.4% in 2016. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Ghana, 1987–2016
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 85.4% for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in 2016. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Ghana peaked at 98.4% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 85.4%, in 2016.
That places Ghana 20th out of 120 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the top quarter.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 98.4% | — |
| 1988 | 98.1% | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 98.3% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 96.1% | -2.3% |
| 2005 | 94.1% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 86.3% | -8.3% |
| 2016 | 85.4% | -1.1% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 85.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 71.2%, 1.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 85.4% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 89.9%, 95% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 98.2% | 98.1% | 98.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 97.2% | 96.1% | 98.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 94.1% | 94.1% | 94.1% | 1 |
| 2010s | 85.9% | 85.4% | 86.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More poverty & inequality data for Ghana
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Ghana?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Ghana was 85.4% in 2016, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 98.4% in 1987.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 85.4% in 2016.
- How does Ghana rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day?
- Ghana ranks 20th out of 120 countries with data for 2016.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $8.30 per day.