Ghana vs Malaysia
Malaysia has about the same population as Ghana: 35,977,838 vs 35,064,272, a gap of 913,566. Ghana is growing faster (+1.83% vs +1.17% a year), adding about 642,712 people a year against +422,638. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Ghana would overtake Malaysia in about 4 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2029) — a projection, not a forecast. Malaysia is the older society: 8.0% aged 65+ against 3.8% in Ghana, while Ghana has more children (35.4% under 15 vs 21.3%). Ghana is 1.4× as densely populated (148.5 vs 106.9 people per km²). People in Malaysia live 11.1 years longer on average (76.8 vs 65.7). GDP per capita is 4.0× higher in Malaysia ($13,125 vs $3,257).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Ghana) and 2025 (Malaysia); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Ghana vs Malaysia — side by side
 Ghana |  Malaysia | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 35,064,2722025 | 35,977,8382025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +1.83%2025 | +1.17%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 25.92024 | 12.42024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 7.02024 | 5.32024 |
| Children per woman | 3.342024 | 1.542024 |
| Life expectancy | 65.7 yrs2024 | 76.8 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 35.4%2025 | 21.3%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 3.8%2025 | 8.0%2025 |
| Density | 148.5 /km²2023 | 106.9 /km²2023 |
| Area | 238,539 km²2023 | 330,411 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 58.9%2025 | 77.4%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -17,0792025 | +166,6152025 |
| GDP per capita | $3,2572025 | $13,1252025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #47 | #45 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.43% | 0.44% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Ghana: 5.0× from 1960 to 2025; Malaysia: 4.5× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa · East Asia & Pacific · rankings
Ghana: Ghana vs Poland, Ghana vs Malaysia, Ghana vs Mozambique, Ghana vs Peru, Ghana vs Madagascar, Ghana vs Ivory Coast.
Malaysia: Malaysia vs Uzbekistan, Malaysia vs Saudi Arabia, Malaysia vs Poland, Malaysia vs Mozambique, Malaysia vs Ghana, Malaysia vs Peru.
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