Ghana Population
Ghana had an estimated population of 35,064,272 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 47th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.43% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +1.83% a year.
Ghana at a glance
How Ghana's population is changing
Ghana's population is growing fast: +1.83% a year, which works out to about +642,712 people per year, or +1,760 a day. Births (25.9 per 1,000) and deaths (7.0 per 1,000) alone would give +1.89% a year; net migration removes about 17,079 people a year (−0.05%). Roughly one in every 234 people on Earth lives in Ghana.
Population of Ghana since 1960
In 1960, Ghana had 6,961,215 people. By 2025 that was 35,064,272 — 5.0× larger. The fastest growth came between 1973 and 1983, when the population rose by 34%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 6,961,215 | — |
| 1970 | 8,925,813 | +28.2% |
| 1980 | 11,941,448 | +33.8% |
| 1990 | 15,394,648 | +28.9% |
| 2000 | 19,637,087 | +27.6% |
| 2010 | 25,474,995 | +29.7% |
| 2020 | 31,887,809 | +25.2% |
| 2025 | 35,064,272 | +10.0% |
Ghana from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Ghana at about 2,016,034 people in 1800; the UN estimates 35,064,277 in 2025 (17× 1800) and projects 67,547,749 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 93% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 2,016,034 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 1,988,311 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 2,717,458 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 5,080,664 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 19,637,085 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 35,064,277 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 50,553,046 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 61,951,857 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 67,547,749 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Ghana
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 35,064,272. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accra | 5,592,780 | UN urban centre | 15.95% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Kumasi | 4,297,984 | UN urban centre | 12.26% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Sekondi-Takoradi | 1,127,436 | UN urban centre | 3.22% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Tamale | 654,868 | UN urban centre | 1.87% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Takoradi | 389,114 | GeoNames settlement | 1.11% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 6 | Sekondi | 285,506 | GeoNames settlement | 0.81% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 7 | Cape Coast | 281,579 | UN urban centre | 0.80% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Koforidua | 246,770 | UN urban centre | 0.70% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Ho | 243,211 | UN urban centre | 0.69% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Atsiaman | 202,932 | GeoNames settlement | 0.58% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
How Ghana compares
Ghana has almost the same population as Peru (34,576,665).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Ghana | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #45 |  Malaysia | 35,977,838 | +3% | compare → |
| #46 |  Mozambique | 35,631,653 | +2% | compare → |
| #48 |  Peru | 34,576,665 | −1% | compare → |
| #49 |  Madagascar | 32,740,678 | −7% | compare → |
Compare Ghana with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Ghana
Land neighbours (3)
Ivory Coast 32,711,547 · about the same population · compare
Burkina Faso 24,074,580 · 1.5× smaller · compare
Togo 8,591,626 · 4.1× smaller · compare
Ghana's 3 neighbours together hold 65,377,753 people — 1.9× Ghana's population. The most populous is Ivory Coast (32,711,547).
In its region
Ghana is the 11th most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 2.7% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings
Largest countries, fastest-growing, oldest populations, densest — all rankings.
Cities
Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Tamale, Takoradi, Sekondi, Cape Coast, Koforidua — all Ghana's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Ghana when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.