Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty in Ghana
Ghana: Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty was 12.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty in Ghana, 1955–2023
Source: Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, share of government consumption in gdp vs. share of population living in extreme poverty in Ghana stood at 12.6%.
That represents a change of down 2.7% on the previous year and up 22.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of government consumption in gdp vs. share of population living in extreme poverty in Ghana peaked at 18.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 1955.
Ghana ranks 154th of 184 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 69 years of available data.
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 2.8% | — |
| 1956 | 3.1% | +8.5% |
| 1957 | 3.5% | +12.6% |
| 1958 | 3.5% | +1.6% |
| 1959 | 3.3% | -6.6% |
| 1960 | 3.5% | +5.5% |
| 1961 | 3.9% | +13.2% |
| 1962 | 4.3% | +8.9% |
| 1963 | 4.4% | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 4.4% | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 5.6% | +27.6% |
| 1966 | 6.0% | +7.7% |
| 1967 | 7.4% | +21.8% |
| 1968 | 8.2% | +10.9% |
| 1969 | 7.3% | -10.8% |
| 1970 | 6.4% | -11.8% |
| 1971 | 6.8% | +5.6% |
| 1972 | 7.6% | +12.2% |
| 1973 | 6.7% | -12.1% |
| 1974 | 7.3% | +9.3% |
| 1975 | 8.3% | +14.2% |
| 1976 | 9.4% | +12.4% |
| 1977 | 10.6% | +12.8% |
| 1978 | 12.3% | +16.7% |
| 1979 | 10.7% | -13.4% |
| 1980 | 11.9% | +11.5% |
| 1981 | 14.9% | +24.7% |
| 1982 | 15.4% | +3.7% |
| 1983 | 15.1% | -1.9% |
| 1984 | 12.0% | -20.4% |
| 1985 | 10.9% | -9.2% |
| 1986 | 11.0% | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 11.2% | +1.8% |
| 1988 | 10.2% | -8.6% |
| 1989 | 10.8% | +5.0% |
| 1990 | 9.8% | -8.5% |
| 1991 | 9.3% | -5.1% |
| 1992 | 11.6% | +24.1% |
| 1993 | 14.1% | +21.7% |
| 1994 | 13.9% | -1.8% |
| 1995 | 13.2% | -4.9% |
| 1996 | 12.8% | -3.3% |
| 1997 | 10.6% | -16.7% |
| 1998 | 11.5% | +8.2% |
| 1999 | 11.0% | -3.9% |
| 2000 | 12.4% | +12.6% |
| 2001 | 13.9% | +11.9% |
| 2002 | 12.4% | -11.0% |
| 2003 | 13.7% | +11.1% |
| 2004 | 11.3% | -17.7% |
| 2005 | 11.0% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 10.5% | -4.6% |
| 2007 | 9.3% | -11.7% |
| 2008 | 9.8% | +5.9% |
| 2009 | 9.8% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 11.1% | +13.1% |
| 2011 | 18.7% | +68.5% |
| 2012 | 15.2% | -18.7% |
| 2013 | 10.3% | -32.4% |
| 2014 | 10.1% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 9.8% | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 9.8% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 8.4% | -14.0% |
| 2018 | 9.8% | +15.5% |
| 2019 | 10.4% | +6.4% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | +17.6% |
| 2021 | 13.5% | +10.5% |
| 2022 | 12.9% | -4.3% |
| 2023 | 12.6% | -2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.3% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 5 |
| 1960s | 5.5% | 3.5% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 8.6% | 6.4% | 12.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.4% | 10.2% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.8% | 9.3% | 14.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.4% | 9.3% | 13.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.4% | 8.4% | 18.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.8% | 12.2% | 13.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
- 151 Côte d'Ivoire 13.1% compare
- 152 Viet Nam 12.8% compare
- 153 Benin 12.7% compare
- 155 Malaysia 12.5% compare
- 156 Dominican Republic 12.3% compare
- 157 Hong Kong, China 12.3% compare
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 share of government consumption in gdp vs. share of population living in extreme poverty in Ghana?
- Share of government consumption in gdp vs. share of population living in extreme poverty in Ghana was 12.6% in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of government consumption in gdp vs. share of population living in extreme poverty recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 18.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest share of government consumption in gdp vs. share of population living in extreme poverty recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 1955.
- How does Ghana rank for share of government consumption in gdp vs. share of population living in extreme poverty?
- Ghana ranks 154th out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of government consumption in gdp vs. share of population living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Government consumption divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.