Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Ghana

Ghana: Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters was 5.56 million people in 1985. ◆ Volatile

Latest (1985)
5.56 million people
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
7th
of 78 countries
All-time high
5.56 million people
in 1985
All-time low
0 people
in 1977
Years of data
5
1971–1985

Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Ghana, 1971–1985

02.0M4.0M6.0M1971197819851971: 12.0k people1977: 0 people1983: 1.4M people1984: 5.5M people1985: 5.6M people

Source: EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

Ghana recorded 5.56 million people for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in 1985. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year.

Over the whole period, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Ghana peaked at 5.56 million people in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1977.

That places Ghana 7th out of 78 countries with data for 1985, putting it in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 6,000 people 0 people 12,000 people 2
1980s 4.17 million people 1.40 million people 5.56 million people 3

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 4 Sudan 11.84 million people compare
  2. 5 Zimbabwe 7.60 million people compare
  3. 6 Somalia 5.60 million people compare
  4. 8 India 4.90 million people compare
  5. 9 Pakistan 4.68 million people compare
  6. 10 Niger 4.40 million people compare

See the full ranking of 78 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Ghana?
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Ghana was 5.56 million people in 1985, according to EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 5.56 million people in 1985.
What is the lowest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1977.
How does Ghana rank for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters?
Ghana ranks 7th out of 78 countries with data for 1985.
Where does this Ghana data come from?
The figures come from EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters
Unit
people
Source
EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
78 places, 1,202 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed

Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.