Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Ghana

Ghana: Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) was 15.2% in 2016. ▼ Falling

Latest (2016)
15.2%
World rank
51st
of 113 countries
All-time high
22.4%
in 1956
All-time low
12.2%
in 1998
Years of data
16
1943–2016

Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Ghana, 1943–2016

051015201943197920161943: 21.4 %1951: 20.3 %1952: 20.4 %1953: 21.5 %1954: 21.3 %1955: 21.2 %1956: 22.4 %1957: 22.2 %1958: 21.9 %1959: 21.4 %1988: 12.5 %1991: 13.8 %1998: 12.2 %2005: 15.8 %2012: 14.4 %2016: 15.2 %

Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2016, income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Ghana stood at 15.2%.

That represents a change of down 3.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Ghana peaked at 22.4% in 1956 and was at its lowest, 12.2%, in 1998.

That places Ghana 51st out of 113 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1940s 21.4% 21.4% 21.4% 1
1950s 21.4% 20.3% 22.4% 9
1980s 12.5% 12.5% 12.5% 1
1990s 13.0% 12.2% 13.8% 2
2000s 15.8% 15.8% 15.8% 1
2010s 14.8% 14.4% 15.2% 2

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 48 Uruguay 15.7% compare
  2. 49 Iran 15.7% compare
  3. 50 Serbia 15.5% compare
  4. 51 Malawi 15.2% compare
  5. 53 Poland 15.1% compare
  6. 54 Kazakhstan 14.9% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Ghana?
Income share of the richest 1% (before tax) in Ghana was 15.2% in 2016, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest income share of the richest 1% (before tax) recorded in Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 22.4% in 1956.
What is the lowest income share of the richest 1% (before tax) recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 12.2% in 1998.
How does Ghana rank for income share of the richest 1% (before tax)?
Ghana ranks 51st out of 113 countries with data for 2016.
Is income share of the richest 1% (before tax) rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ghana data come from?
The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income share of the richest 1% (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Income share of the richest 1% (before tax)
Unit
%
Source
World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
113 places, 3,075 data points, 1820–2024
Last refreshed

The share of income received by the richest 1%. Income here is measured before taxes and benefits.