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

Health

be 80.3% less likely to be obese

In Tonga, 73.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Ghana, that number is 14.6% of people as of 2024.

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live 7.4 years less

In Tonga, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024. In Ghana, that number is 66 years (63 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 54.2% less spent on your healthcare

Tonga spends $512 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Ghana spends $234 as of 2023.

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have 73.8% fewer doctors per person

Tonga has 10.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Ghana has 2.7 as of 2023.

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have 15.8% less access to essential health services

Tonga scores 57 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Ghana scores 48 as of 2021.

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be 12.5% more likely to die by suicide

Tonga has a suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Ghana, it is 5.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 48.3% more likely to be unemployed

In Tonga, 2.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Ghana, that number is 3.0% as of 2025.

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make 50.3% less money

Tonga has a GDP per capita of $6,547 as of 2025, while in Ghana, the GDP per capita is $3,257 as of 2025.

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Life

have 12.5% more children

In Tonga, there are approximately 23.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ghana, there are 25.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 3.5 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Tonga, approximately 67.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Ghana, 234.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 23.1% less likely to be literate

In Tonga, the literacy rate is 99.5% as of 2023. In Ghana, it is 76.5% as of 2021.

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be 3.5 times more likely to die during infancy

In Tonga, approximately 7.8 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.

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Basic Needs

be 10.5% less likely to have access to electricity

In Tonga, 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.

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Expenditures

spend 45.2% less on education

Tonga spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Ghana spends 2.9% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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spend 59.9% less on healthcare

Tonga spends 7.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Ghana, that number is 3.0% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 28.6% more coastline

Tonga has a total of 419 km of coastline. In Ghana, that number is 539 km.

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Safety

be 92.6% more likely to be murdered

Tonga has a homicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Ghana, that number is 1.8 per 100,000 as of 2022.

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be 3.0 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Tonga, road accidents kill 8.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Ghana, they kill 25.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 91.9% less home broadband

Tonga has 8.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Ghana has 0.7 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 57.1% less CO2

Tonga emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Ghana emits 0.7 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 3.7 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Tonga, air pollution causes 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Ghana, it causes 89.0 as of 2019.

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