If you lived in Ghana instead of Brunei, you would:

Health

be 60.7% less likely to be obese

In Brunei, 37.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Ghana, that number is 14.6% of people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live 9.8 years less

In Brunei, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024. In Ghana, that number is 66 years (63 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.

View global rankings →

see 87.6% less spent on your healthcare

Brunei spends $1,896 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Ghana spends $234 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 85.9% fewer doctors per person

Brunei has 18.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Ghana has 2.7 as of 2023.

View global rankings →

have 38.5% less access to essential health services

Brunei scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Ghana scores 48 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 74.4% more likely to die by suicide

Brunei has a suicide rate of 3.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Ghana, it is 5.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Economy

be 43.6% less likely to be unemployed

In Brunei, 5.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Ghana, that number is 3.0% as of 2025.

View global rankings →

make 89.9% less money

Brunei has a GDP per capita of $32,235 as of 2025, while in Ghana, the GDP per capita is $3,257 as of 2025.

View global rankings →

Life

have 94.4% more children

In Brunei, there are approximately 13.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ghana, there are 25.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 6.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Brunei, approximately 36.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Ghana, 234.0 women do as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 21.6% less likely to be literate

In Brunei, the literacy rate is 97.6% as of 2021. In Ghana, it is 76.5% as of 2021.

View global rankings →

be 3.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Brunei, approximately 8.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Ghana, on the other hand, 27.5 children do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Basic Needs

be 10.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Brunei, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Ghana, that number is 90% of people on average (98% in urban areas, and 78% in rural areas) as of 2023.

View global rankings →

be 25.0% less likely to have internet access

In Brunei, approximately 96.3% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Ghana, about 72.2% do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 10.1% less likely to have access to drinking water

In Brunei, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water as of 2024. In Ghana, 90% of people do as of 2024.

View global rankings →

Expenditures

spend 32.3% more on healthcare

Brunei spends 2.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Ghana, that number is 3.0% of GDP as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Geography

see 3.3 times more coastline

Brunei has a total of 161 km of coastline. In Ghana, that number is 539 km.

View global rankings →

Safety

be 7.2 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Brunei, road accidents kill 3.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Ghana, they kill 25.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

View global rankings →

Infrastructure

find 96.9% less home broadband

Brunei has 21.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Ghana has 0.7 as of 2024.

View global rankings →

live with 81.8% more strain on fresh water

Brunei withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Ghana withdraws 6% as of 2022.

View global rankings →

use 94.7% less electricity

Brunei uses 10,674 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Ghana uses 565 kWh as of 2023.

View global rankings →

Environment

emit 96.5% less CO2

Brunei emits 20.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Ghana emits 0.7 tonnes as of 2024.

View global rankings →

be 4.5 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Brunei, air pollution causes 20.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Ghana, it causes 89.0 as of 2019.

View global rankings →


Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Ghana: At a glance

Ghana is a sovereign country in Africa, with a total land area of approximately 227,533 sq km. Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a long series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta MILLS won the 2008 presidential election and took over as head of state, but he died in July 2012 and was constitutionally succeeded by his vice president John Dramani MAHAMA, who subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election.
Read more

How big is Ghana compared to Brunei? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Ghana or Brunei. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.