Ghana  

Extremely low levels of capital stock rank Ghana 90th on this variable. Furthermore, foreign direct investment is currently at only 6% of GDP, and domestic savings only at 8%. An unemployment rate of 20% and an inflation rate of 11% are both high, placing Ghana in the bottom 15 on these variables. Household expenditure is low at 22% of GDP, indicating a small domestic market. Export revenues are extremely low compared to the expenditure of imports, and on this variable, Ghana ranks in the bottom quintile in the index. In addition, a high concentration of raw material exports suggests over-reliance on this source of revenue. The Ghanaian banking sector is performing slightly better, with only 6.4% of loans defaulting and net interest margins at 6.9 percentage points.

Ghana’s technology sector is very weak. With only six personal computers per 1,000 people, and only three secure Internet servers per 10 million people, technological resources are scarce, so it is unsurprising that Ghanaian ICT and high-tech exports are almost non-existent. Internet bandwidth is also extremely low, which suggests poor internet infrastructure. At 0.1% of GDP, R&D expenditure is negligible and ranks amongst the lowest in the Index. Value added in the service industry is also minimal, ranking the country sixth lowest in the Index on this variable. Additionally, while over 6,000 new businesses were registered in 2007, there is an extremely high number of barriers to entry in terms of the number of procedures required to set up a new business.

Ghanaians enjoy full and unconstrained freedom to participate in political processes, but have not yet been afforded the same levels of civil liberties. The democratic political system in Ghana is characterised by regulated and competitive elections for positions in both executive and legislative branches of government. Ghana ranks moderately, at 61st, on the level of political checks and balances that are in place to prevent political actors from changing legislation arbitrarily. The judiciary is not fully independent, allowing for the possibility of interference in legal proceedings from other branches of government. The current Ghanaian political regime has been in place for less than 10 years, indicating a high degree of political instability, ranking the country 87th internationally on this variable.

While the gender equality in the educational system is relatively low at 95 girls per 100 boys, there is a general low level of human capital in Ghana’s educated workforce. Low enrolment rates and comparatively large class sizes in primary education put Ghana in the bottom ranking countries on these variables. Furthermore, Ghana has low secondary school enrolment, which is only 46% and well below international standards. Tertiary enrolment rates are also quite low at 5%, as are general levels of government expenditure in the education sector. The average Ghanaian worker benefits from 4.8 years of secondary education, and only 2.2 years of tertiary education, both of which are well below the global average.

In Ghana, only two medical professionals and nine hospital beds are available per 10,000 people. Healthadjusted life expectancy is very low at 50 years and infant mortality is extremely high at 75 deaths per 1,000 live births, which is one of the highest rates internationally. A high 11% of the population is undernourished and only 10% have access to improved sanitation facilities, placing Ghana in the bottom ranking countries on these variables. Despite this, Ghana performed well in most subjective variables in the sub-index. 80% of people reported being satisfied with their state of health while only a quarter reported debilitating health problems.* Furthermore, 70% of the population felt well rested, and 63% were happy with the water quality though nearly one in three individuals recently felt pain, placing Ghana 79th on this variable.*

With approximately seven homicides per 100,000 people, Ghana ranks 59th on this variable. More than a fifth of the respondents have had their property stolen and almost 15% have been assaulted, ranking Ghana 87th and 93rd, respectively.* Despite this, 71% of people feel safe walking alone at night.* There are significant security problems for refugees and social groups, with a history of discrimination or other grievance, for which: Ghana ranks 60th and 46th, respectively, on these variables. Government-sponsored violence against citizens and political imprisonment are a rare but present a threat, with Ghana ranking just inside the bottom half of the Index on this factor. The level of Ghanaians fleeing dangerous or degrading conditions and the loss of talent overseas are amongst the lowest in the international community, ranking the country in the bottom ten.

In Ghana, the rule of law is enforced arbitrarily, and with varying quality. Regulation is such that competition may, to an extent, be stifled in economic and commercial markets. The government is sometimes ineffective when enforcing legislation, ranking Ghana at about the global average on government effectiveness. Although Ghanaians have some legal rights to political participation, these rights are not as extensive as in the more democratic countries. Though over 70% of people have confidence in electoral honesty, over four-fifths of people believe that corruption is widespread in local government, and 82% believe the same to be true of local businesses.* Confidence in the military and the judiciary is high by international standards with Ghana ranking just outside the top 20 countries on these variables.*

Despite limited freedom of speech, movement and religion, 86% of Ghanaians feel satisfied with their freedom of choice in their lives.* Ghanaians are more tolerant of immigrants than they are of ethnic minorities, with 74% of people believing that Ghana is a good place for immigrants to live, and only 63% believing the same to be true for ethnic minorities.*

Most Ghanaians believe that having friends is only moderately important and only 69% believe that they can rely on family and friends in times of need.* Trust levels in others are also lacking, with only 9% of respondents having trust in other people. Despite these figures, Ghanaians appear charitable and helpful. More than three in five report having helped strangers in the past month while almost a third volunteered their time and 36% donated money.* All of these factors rank Ghana within the top 40. Societal group membership is also quite high in Ghana, ranking in the top five for religious, arts, and environmental group membership, and 12th for sports club membership. Ghanaians also place a high value on religion, with a large percentage of the population attending services frequently and observing religious practices.*

* Data taken from the Gallup World Poll

• Back to top