Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Ghana instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

be 57.6% less likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Ghana, that number is 10.9% of people as of 2016.

be 4.2 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Costa Rica, 0.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Ghana, that number is 1.7% of people as of 2020.

live 10.3 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Ghana, that number is 69 years (68 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 68.9% less likely to be unemployed

In Costa Rica, 11.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Ghana, that number is 3.5% as of 2022.

make 75.1% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $22,100 as of 2022, while in Ghana, the GDP per capita is $5,500 as of 2022.

pay a 66.7% higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Ghana, the top tax rate is 25.0% as of 2016.

Life

have 2.6 times more children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Ghana, there are 27.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 12.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Costa Rica, approximately 22.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Ghana, 263.0 women do as of 2020.

be 19.4% less likely to be literate

In Costa Rica, the literacy rate is 98.0% as of 2021. In Ghana, it is 79.0% as of 2018.

be 3.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Ghana, on the other hand, 32.6 children do as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 13.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In Costa Rica, approximately 100% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Ghana, 86% of the population do as of 2021.

be 18.1% less likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 83.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Ghana, about 68.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 41.8% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Ghana spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 49.4% less on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 7.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Ghana, that number is 4.0% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 58.2% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Ghana, that number is 539 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ghana Revenue Authority, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

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

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