Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Ghana
Ghana: Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days was 50.0% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Ghana, 2000–2020
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Ghana stood at 50.0%. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Ghana peaked at 53.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 50.0%, in 2020.
That places Ghana 42nd out of 187 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 53.6% | — |
| 2001 | 53.3% | -0.5% |
| 2002 | 53.5% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 53.2% | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 52.8% | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 52.8% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 52.9% | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 51.3% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 52.8% | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 52.7% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 52.9% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 52.5% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 51.8% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 51.5% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 51.9% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 51.4% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 50.9% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 50.6% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 50.7% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 50.5% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 50.0% | -0.9% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 50.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 44.7%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 50.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 47.9%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 52.9% | 51.3% | 53.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.5% | 50.5% | 52.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.0% | 50.0% | 50.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More reference data data for Ghana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2805 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1989 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9405 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9478 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Ghana?
- Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Ghana was 50.0% in 2020, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 53.6% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.0% in 2020.
- How does Ghana rank for share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days?
- Ghana ranks 42nd out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Heavy episodic drinking (drinkers only) is defined as the proportion of adult drinkers (15+ years) who have had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. A consumption of 60 grams of pure alcohol corresponds approximately to 6 standard alcoholic drinks.