Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Ghana

Ghana: Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts was 47.8% in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
47.8%
World rank
36th
of 96 countries
All-time high
48.6%
in 2014
All-time low
3.0%
in 1986
Years of data
14
1986–2018

Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Ghana, 1986–2018

010203040501986200220181986: 3 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1987: 36 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1988: 33.5 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1989: 21 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1993: 28.5 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1994: 28.5 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1998: 29.2 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet1999: 29.2 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2003: 38.6 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2006: 28.8 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2008: 44.5 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2011: 35 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2014: 48.6 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet2018: 47.8 % of children under 5 who received ORS packet

Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5 who received ORS packet.

Analysis

Ghana recorded 47.8% for share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 7.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Ghana peaked at 48.6% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 1986.

That places Ghana 36th out of 96 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 23.4% 3.0% 36.0% 4
1990s 28.9% 28.5% 29.2% 4
2000s 37.3% 28.8% 44.5% 3
2010s 43.8% 35.0% 48.6% 3

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 33 Malawi 51.4% compare
  2. 34 Syria 49.8% compare
  3. 35 Guatemala 48.8% compare
  4. 37 Vanuatu 47.6% compare
  5. 38 Uganda 46.7% compare
  6. 39 Mozambique 45.9% compare

See the full ranking of 96 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Ghana?
Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Ghana was 47.8% in 2018, according to Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts recorded in Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 48.6% in 2014.
What is the lowest share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 1986.
How does Ghana rank for share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts?
Ghana ranks 36th out of 96 countries with data for 2018.
Is share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is up 7.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ghana data come from?
The figures come from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts
Unit
% of children under 5 who received ORS packet
Source
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
96 places, 780 data points, 1985–2021
Last refreshed

The share of children under five years old with diarrhea, in the two weeks prior to the survey, who received oral rehydration salts.