Sub-Saharan Africa

A life that begins in Ghana

One in every 148 babies in the world is born here: about 908,866 a year, 1.7 a minute.

Population: 35,064,272
Births a year: 908,866
Life expectancy: 65.7
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000): 35.9

Health and survival

Life expectancy, women (years)
68.2
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
63.3
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
27.5
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
35.9
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
234
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
1.5
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
3
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
4.3
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
25.7
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
1.8
World: 4.7

Family and school

Children per woman
3.34
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
16
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
86
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
76
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
21
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
28.8
World: 11.9

Money and work

Income per person (PPP)
$7,358
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
44
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
39
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
3
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
35
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
55
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
27
World: 37

Home and connection

Living in cities (%)
59
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
92
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
90
World: 91
Internet users (%)
72
World: 72

Peace and wellbeing

Life satisfaction (0–10)
4.55
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0.09
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.05
World: 0.34

From 1960 to 2050

How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.

Life expectancy

1960: 47.1 → 2026: 65.9 → 2050: 70.1

World

Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)

1960: 209 → 2026: 34 → 2050: 12

World

Children per woman

1960: 6.9 → 2026: 3.3 → 2050: 2.6

World

Living in cities (%)

1960: 23 → 2026: 60 → 2050: 73

World

Nobody chooses where they are born

In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Ghana comes up about once in every 148 lives.

Other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

All 178 countries →

Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.